ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Postal Voting

Bob Spink: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what recent assessment the commission has made of the security of postal voting.

Peter Viggers: The Commission's most recent assessment of the security of postal voting was published in its report on postal voting—Delivering democracy—in August 2004. The Government published their response to the recommendations in that report in December 2004 in Cm 6436.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL

Invoice Payments

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Advocate-General what the average length of time was between the date of invoices issued to her Department from a supplier and payment by the Department of the invoice in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what percentage of those invoices were paid within 30 days of the date of issue of the invoice; what percentage of those invoices remained unpaid after 90 days; and if she will make a statement on the Department's policy on the payment of invoices issued to the Department.

Lynda Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland. The information for the Office of the Advocate-General is not held separately from that of the Scotland Office.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

European Court of Justice

John Hayes: To ask the Solicitor-General what the cost was of UK participation in the Commission case against the Hellenic Republic in Court of Justice Cases C-475/01 as detailed in OJ C300 volume 47 of 4 December; and what form such participation took.

Harriet Harman: The UK's participation in Case C-475/01 was limited to applying to the European Court of Justice for leave to intervene, which was granted. After reviewing the pleadings, the UK decided not to pursue the intervention because it had nothing to add to the Commission's case. The UK did not therefore submit a statement of intervention or attend the hearing.
	In accordance with the Court's Rules of Procedure (Article 69(4)), an intervening member state bears its own costs of intervention. Aside from the time spent by departmental officials in considering the pleadings and applying for leave to intervene, the only costs incurred were the costs of translating the pleadings from Greek to English, which were approximately £2,150.

CPS Direct

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General in how many Crown Prosecution Service areas Crown Prosecution Service Direct is fully operational.

Harriet Harman: There are currently 14 Local Criminal Justice Board Areas who have become subject to the statutory charging scheme and are therefore delivering out of hours legal advice and charging decisions to the police through CPS Direct. These are:
	West Yorkshire and Kent from 17 May 2004;
	South Yorkshire from 24 May 2004;
	Cleveland from 4 June 2004;
	Lancashire from 15 June 2004;
	Northumbria from 28 June 2004;
	Avon and Somerset, and Nottinghamshire from 5 July 2004;
	Humberside from 31 August 2004;
	Greater Manchester from 6 September 2004;
	Thames Valley from 14 September 2004;
	Merseyside from 4 October 2004;
	London from 1 November 2004; and
	West Midlands from 9 November 2004.

CPS Direct

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what her assessment is of the impact of Crown Prosecution Service Direct on (a) the level of convictions, (b) the numbers of guilty pleas and (c) the numbers of cracked trials in 2004.

Harriet Harman: CPS Direct is currently operating in the 14 Criminal Justice Areas that have implemented statutory charging.
	The following table records the conviction and guilty plea rate of cases finalised in November 2004 that have been subject to statutory charging arrangements ("All") and those that have involved CPS Direct prosecutors ("CPS Direct").
	
		Percentage
		
			  Guilty plea rate Conviction rate 
			  Magistrates Crown Magistrates Crown 
		
		
			 All 69.1 65.3 76.7 76.9 
			 CPS Direct 73.1 77.7 79.0 84.8 
		
	
	The data available on cracked trials does not distinguish between all cases and those receiving advice through CPS Direct.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor General what criteria the Crown Prosecution Service uses to decide whether to prosecute in a case referred to it.

Harriet Harman: All cases received by the Crown Prosecution Service are individually reviewed against the tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The Code is a publicly available document issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions to give guidance on general principles to be applied in determining whether cases should be prosecuted and the choice of charge.
	A prosecutor must first decide whether there is enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each defendant on each charge. If there is sufficient evidence the prosecutor will consider whether the public interest requires the case to be prosecuted. A prosecution will usually take place unless there are public interest factors tending against a prosecution which clearly outweigh those tending in favour, or it appears more appropriate in all the circumstances of the case to divert the person from prosecution.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General what documents the Crown Prosecution Service requires to receive before making a decision to prosecute.

Harriet Harman: Under the new early advice and charging arrangements, the police may seek the opinion of a Crown Prosecution Service duty prosecutor at any stage in the proceedings. No formal documentation is required for the early stages of an investigation, though the police are encouraged to provide copies of any documentation they have. For the formal decision to commence proceedings, usually by the preferment of a charge, the police are required to provide jointly agreed documentation set out in a Manual of Guidance and in Guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecutors making charging decisions.
	The documents which accompany a police officer's report will include key witness statements and other relevant material such as video recordings, an account of the defendant's interview, a record of the defendant's previous convictions, if any, and any material that would undermine the prosecution's case or assist the defence.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the pilot scheme for joint working between the Crown Prosecution Service and the police in Southend.

Harriet Harman: The joint Crown Prosecution Service/police criminal justice unit was opened in Southend Police Station in November 2000. Charging Prosecutors at the Station now provide advice to the police both pre-charge and at the charging stage. When required they also provide advice to police officers during their investigation into allegations of crime.
	The police and CPS also work together on effective trial management and supporting witnesses to give their evidence through No Witness No Justice.

Sex Abuse (Evidential Tests)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor General how the Crown Prosecution Service tests the evidence in historical sex abuse cases.

Harriet Harman: In all cases it prosecutes, the Crown Prosecution Service applies the evidential test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors and only those cases that pass this test and where it is in the public interest to prosecute, are put before the court. A new edition of the Code was issued in November 2004, and is publicly available.
	The Attorney General announced, in a written statement to Parliament on 20 December 2004, a proposal that will enable prosecutors to interview and assess the evidence and credibility of a witness before trial. This will include sensitive cases, such as those involving historical sexual abuse.

Sir Roy Meadows

William Cash: To ask the Solicitor-General what payment was made to Sir Roy Meadows as an expert witness in the case of R. v. Cannings; by whom; and on whose behalf.

Harriet Harman: The payment made by the Crown Prosecution Service to Sir Roy Meadow for his attendance at court and attendance at conferences was £3,462.15. Wiltshire Constabulary made payments to Sir Roy Meadows in relation to preparation work totalling £4,730.

Taskforces

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was spent by her Department in each year since 1997 on taskforces and similar bodies.

Harriet Harman: Neither the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), nor the Serious Fraud Office have spent any money on taskforces or similar bodies since 1997. In 1999 the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers spent a total of £210,000 on a review which led to the establishment of a separate and independent Inspectorate for the CPS.

Working Time Regulations

Graham Brady: To ask the Solicitor-General how many officials working in ministerial private offices in the Department have worked more than a 48-hour week at any time in the last 12 months for which figures are available; how many of those had signed a waiver under working time regulations; and what percentage these figures represented of the total in each case.

Harriet Harman: The working time regulations provide workers with the protection of a limit of an average of 48 hours a week working time. This is not an absolute cap of 48 hours in any one week. This average is normally calculated over a 17-week reference period, although this can be longer in certain situations (26 weeks) and can be extended by agreement (up to 52 weeks). Workers may choose to work more than 48 hours per week over this reference period by signing an opt-out agreement, but employers cannot force a worker to sign an opt-out, and workers cannot be subjected to detriment for refusing to sign an opt-out. In the last 12 months four officials working in the combined Private Office for the Law Officers have worked more than a 48 hour week on occasions. This represents 100 per cent. of the total number of permanent staff in the office.
	None of these staff have signed a waiver under the working time regulations, but are now being invited to consider doing so. The working hours of Private Office staff are kept under regular review.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

General Synod

Robert Key: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will arrange for the publication of (a) the attendance records and (b) the voting records of members of all three houses of the General Synod since the last elections.

Stuart Bell: Where votes are counted on particular questions the relevant figures are published in the Synod's Report of Proceedings (which is included on the Church of England website). Records of individual attendance and voting are not kept.

Lottery Funding

Peter Luff: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what discussions the Commissioners have had with the Heritage Lottery Fund about funding for cathedral and church restoration projects.

Stuart Bell: The Church Heritage Forum is arranging such discussions, to include the Association of English Cathedrals, aimed at enabling better mutual understanding of priorities, potential and needs. The Heritage Lottery Fund needs continuing Government support to carry on its very welcome help with new works and repairs in places of worship.

Church Attendance and Income

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will make a statement on (a) church attendance and (b) church income in rural areas.

Stuart Bell: In 2003 adult attendance grew in half the dioceses, but this is not specific to particular parts of the country. Church income depends chiefly on the giving levels of members and visitors and these levels vary. Predominantly rural dioceses are equally spread across the range.

Freedom of Information

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers on behalf of the Church Commissioners in the last three years.

Stuart Bell: The Church Commissioners do not fall within the Freedom of Information Act.

TRANSPORT

A3

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport will respond to the points raised by the right hon. Member for South-West Surrey in the Christmas Adjournment Debate on 21 December, Official Report, columns 2090–92, concerning the A3 at Hindhead.

David Jamieson: I wrote to the right hon. Lady on 13 January addressing these points.

Blackwall Tunnel

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the original projected cost was of the refurbishment of the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(2)  what the start date was of the refurbishment process for the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(3)  when he expects the refurbishment of the Blackwall Tunnel to be completed;
	(4)  what the original estimate was for the time to be taken refurbishing the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(5)  how many (a) contractors and (b) sub-contractors are involved in the refurbishment of the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(6)  what the estimated cost is of the refurbishment of the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(7)  for how many hours per (a) week, (b) month and (c) year on average the Blackwall Tunnel was (i) closed and (ii) partially closed over the last five years;
	(8)  what estimate his Department made of the cost to the UK economy of the (a) closure and (b) partial closure of the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(9)  what environmental impact study has been carried out on the effects of the (a) closure and (b) partial closure of the Blackwall Tunnel;
	(10)  what steps his Department is taking to provide alternative routes for traffic that is unable to use the Blackwall Tunnel.

David Jamieson: The Blackwall Tunnel forms part of the Greater London Authority Road Network—now known as the Transport for London Road Network—and is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London. Therefore, any works, including refurbishment, on that stretch of road are a matter for them. Information about the Blackwall Tunnel and its refurbishment can be obtained from:
	Keith Ollier
	Director of Street Management Transport for London Windsor House 42–50 Victoria Street London SW1H OTL

Blue Badge Scheme

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he expects eligibility for the Blue Badge Scheme to be extended to children under two.

Charlotte Atkins: We are currently finalising a package of changes to the Blue Badge Scheme which require changes through secondary legislation. This includes extending the scheme to those children under two whose medical needs require the transport of medical equipment at all times. We will be consulting on draft regulations in the next few months and intend to implement the changes as soon as possible thereafter.

Congestion and Parking Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities in England are liaising with his Department over the potential introduction of (a) congestion charging and (b) workplace parking charging.

Charlotte Atkins: In our recently published Guidance on Local Transport Plans, we invited local authorities to consider the scope for tackling congestion through innovative schemes involving improvements to the delivery of public transport and demand management measures such as congestion charging. Funding from the Transport Innovation Fund may be available from 2008–09 onwards to support the implementation of the best schemes. We have asked interested authorities to register their interest by the end of this month, and have responded to requests for clarification from a number of authorities in recent weeks.
	Separately, the Department has been liaising with Nottingham city council about its plans to introduce a workplace parking levy.

Correspondence

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what instructions he issues to Ministers in his Department on protocols for correspondence with hon. Members.

Charlotte Atkins: Correspondence with hon. Members is normally dealt with by the Minister in the Department with main responsibility for the subject of the correspondence. Ministers have a target of replying to letters received from hon. Members within 15 workings days of their receipt.
	The Minister responsible for a particular departmental initiative or decision will notify hon. Members whose constituencies are affected. A Minister will also notify an hon. Member when they are undertaking a departmental engagement in their constituency.

Correspondence

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for South-West Surrey of 10 December.

David Jamieson: I replied to the letter received on 16 December 2004 from the right hon. Member for South-West Surrey on 13 January 2005.

Cycling (Rail Travel)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether future rail franchises will require franchisees to make a specific commitment to integrate cycling with rail travel.

Charlotte Atkins: Current franchise agreements require train operators to consider the needs of cyclists. The Strategic Rail Authority published its Cycling Policy in November 2004 which, among other things, covers the carriage of bikes on trains and their storage at stations. The Cycling Policy document is in the Library of the House. With the implementation of the proposals in the White Paper, "The Future of Rail", the Department for Transport would expect to continue to work with franchise operators to facilitate the integration of cycling with rail travel.

Dartford Crossings

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times in each year since 1997 the (a) Dartford Tunnel and (b) Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, Dartford have been closed; how many closures were due to (i) road traffic accidents and (ii) adverse weather conditions; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Summarised information is not kept in the form requested. I have asked the Highways Agency to provide the information as soon as possible from the detailed records available and to write to the hon. Member and also place copies in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost is to public funds in each case.

Charlotte Atkins: The information for the central Department (DfT) and its agencies is set out in the table.
	
		
			   Costs (£) 
			  Equipment 2002–03 2003–04 Additional information 
		
		
			 DfT(C) Photocopying equipment 55,799.60 64,698.60 DfT leases photocopying equipment (including multifunctional devices) from two suppliers via a framework contract let in 1997. This contract expired on 31 October 2004 and the Department has now switched to using similar contracts put in place by the Office of Government Commerce buying. solutions on 1 April 2004. 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Photocopying equipment 195,481.60 190,778.20 The leasing of this equipment is split on a UK-wide basis between Konica and Energy. 
			  Despatch mailers 108,753 November 2003 to October 2008. Lease of two mailers from IBM. 
			  
			 Marine and Coastguard Agency Photocopying equipment 92,473.93 89,608.89 MCA leased photocopying equipment from four suppliers via a DfT contract, which expired 31 October 2004. From 1 January 2004 the MCA has now switched to using similar contracts put in place by the Office of Government Commerce. 
			   
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency Photocopying equipment 226,459.45 205,809.27 VOSA leases photocopying equipment (including multi-functional devices) from one supplier (IKON) via the DfT framework contract let in 1997. 
			   
			 Highways Agency Multi-functional devices Cost per financial year not available 25 on three-year lease from 2004–07 at a total cost of £82,780 per annum. 
			  Photocopying equipment Cost per financial year not  available Eight on three year lease from 2002–05 at a total cost of £48,000 per annum. 
			  Vehicle Cost per financial year not available One on three-year lease from 2003–06 at a cost of £3,128 per annum. 
			  Vending machines Cost per financial year not available Two on three-year lease from 2003–06 at a total cost of £2,032 per annum. 
			  
			 Vehicle Certification Agency Photocopiers 7,402.94 8,240.93 VCA leases photocopying equipment from two suppliers (Xerox and Danka) via the DfT framework contract let in 1997. 
			  Snack machine 834.13 625.65 Snack Machine leased from local supplier Citrus Vending until 26 November 2004. 
			  
			 Driving Standards Agency Photocopiers 32,479 34,452 DSA leases photocopiers and a small number of fax machines from several suppliers, mainly using Government framework contracts. 
			  Fax machines 1,021 1,021 DSA leases photocopiers and a small number of fax machines from several suppliers, mainly using Government framework contracts.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of travel within the UK for the Department was in each year since 1997; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department for Transport came into existence on 29 May 2002 following machinery of Government changes. The total travel and subsistence costs for civil servants in the Department excluding the agencies in 2002–03 were £1,606,589, and in 2003–04 were £1,919,678. Information for earlier years, and the breakdown requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The totals for the Department's agencies in the same years were £18,696,176 (2002–03), and £21,975,803 (2003–04).
	All travel undertaken by civil servants in the Department for Transport complied with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.
	Information relating to overseas travel by Ministers is published on an annual basis. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2004 is available in the Library of the House. Information for the financial year 2004–05 will be published as soon as possible at the end of the current financial year.

Disabled Air Passengers

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will make representations to the relevant bodies in the European Union to ensure consistency across Europe of the implementation of the recommended practices of the European Civil Aviation Conference in respect of disabled passengers, with particular reference to those who are deaf or who have impaired hearing; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will take measures to ensure consistency of implementation by UK airlines of his Department's Code of Practice regarding disabled passengers, with particular reference to those who are deaf or have impaired hearing.

Charlotte Atkins: Following the publication of the voluntary code "Access to Air Travel for Disabled People—Code of Practice", which we published in March 2003, we commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory to monitor the industry's take up of the code's recommendations. It is looking at compliance generally and not specifically in relation to any particular group of disabled people. The research is due to be completed towards the end of this year.
	We have said that we will legislate in this field if the voluntary approach proves ineffective and the outcome of the research will be used to inform our decision.
	The UK Chairs the European Civil Aviation Conference's (ECAC) Facilitation Working Group on air travel for people with reduced mobility. We work alongside other member states to promote the recommended practices which ECAC has introduced. On the domestic front the ECAC recommended practices were the basis for our Code of Practice. At a recent meeting of the ECAC Facilitation working group we raised a number of issues relating to air travel for deaf and hard or hearing people. The group has agreed to consider those and have included them on their agenda for their next meeting later this month.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the DVLA was last audited by the National Audit Office.

David Jamieson: The last audit was in respect of DVLA's 2003–04 Business Accounts and Trust Statement. The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons were signed by Sir John Bourn on 20 July 2004.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fines were issued to drivers for failing to update their details with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: The number of penalty letters issued for failure to notify disposal of a vehicle were as follows:
	
		
			 January to December Number 
		
		
			 2000–00 18,970 
			 2001–01 34,944 
			 2002–02 71,627 
			 2003–03 74,570 
			 2004–04 65,420

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest figures are for the take-up of online (a) first-time vehicle registration and (b) driving licence application and renewal; and what steps he has taken to evaluate consumer satisfaction with the processes.

David Jamieson: The latest full year figures available for vehicle first registrations, for 2003–04, show that 2,539,861 new vehicles (or 78.21 per cent.) were processed though the Automated First Registration and Licensing (AFRL) system out of a total of 3,247,359.
	At present, the only driver licensing transaction conducted electronically is the Automatic Driving Licence Issue (ADLI) of an exchange licence following a test pass. This system was introduced in August 2004 and, up to 31 December 2004, 41,057 (or 10.24 per cent.) licence exchanges have been processed via this route out of a total Of 400,825.
	DVLA regularly conduct customer satisfaction surveys to ensure that the services provided are in line with customer expectations. The last such survey was undertaken in November 2004.

Regional Transport Boards

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether road improvement plans already accepted by his Department will be implemented by new regional transport boards; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Implementation of road improvement plans agreed by the Department will continue to be the responsibility of the Highways Agency in the case of the trunk road network and of local transport authorities in the case of local roads.

Regional Transport Boards

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost of a Regional Transport Board for the East of England;
	(2)  what advice his Department has given to (a) regional assemblies and (b) regional development agencies on the composition of a Regional Transport Board.

Charlotte Atkins: In the consultation document "Devolving decision making: a consultation on regional funding allocations" the Government indicated that they do not intend to prescribe institutional arrangements for how regions should coordinate and prepare advice on regional priorities. It will be for regions themselves to decide if they wish to establish Regional Transport Boards or other arrangements, and the consultation seeks regional views on the mechanisms and processes which need to be put in place. In reaching their views, regions will be able to draw on the experience of the experimental Transport Boards which were established in the South East and Yorkshire and Humberside last year. Copies of the consultation document are available in the House Libraries.

Local/Regional Transport Plans

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role (a) regional chambers and (b) regional transport boards will play in supervising the development of local authorities' local transport plans; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: We have no plans to give regional transport boards or regional chambers a supervisory role in relation to the development of local transport plans by local transport authorities.

Local/Regional Transport Plans

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent local authorities are required to follow regional transport plans; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: We have, as part of the guidance on Local Transport Plans published in December 2004, advised local transport authorities outside London to outline how their plans and proposals for major schemes are consistent with the policies and priorities in regional transport strategies. We have also advised the authorities to consider in detail in their local transport plans how to achieve the outcomes set out in the regional transport strategies, where these require action at local level. Ultimately decisions about which proposals to include in local transport plans are solely for the local authorities concerned. Copies of the 'Full Guidance on Local Transport Plans' are available in the House Libraries.

M5

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what figures his Department has compiled for the number of road accidents between junctions 12 and 12a of the M5 in the past 12 months.

David Jamieson: There is no junction 12a on the M5 and the accident figures provided are between junctions 12 and 11A. The last period of 12 months for which figures are available is between August 2003 and July 2004. During this time there were 15 accidents, 13 slight and two fatal.

Merchant Shipping

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps the Government are taking to widen the existing link between tonnage tax and seafarer employment to include a requirement to employ junior officers;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the work being undertaken by the Shipping Task Force on employment in the UK fleet.

David Jamieson: I have recently approved new terms of reference for the Shipping Task Force so that work to develop proposals for improving the employment environment can be taken forward by a specially constituted sub-group of this body. This will include consideration of representations made to the post-implementation review of tonnage tax. I have asked the sub-group to submit initial proposals on ways to improve the employment environment, agreed by all parties, by June 2005.

Merchant Shipping

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the UK will support the International Labour Organisation's proposed bill of rights for seafarers; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The UK welcomes the development of the consolidated international convention on maritime labour standards. The UK is playing an active role in negotiating the text of the new convention.

Merchant Shipping

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Government intend to enforce the European Commission ruling that non-resident EU seafarers should be employed on the wage rates prevailing under the flag of their ship.

David Jamieson: EC law provides that if a seafarer from a member state is employed solely in the territory of another member state, or his employment is closely connected with that other state, he should not be discriminated against on the grounds of nationality, when compared with seafarers from the host state.
	Having considered this issue, we believe it may be necessary to revise sections 8 and 9 of the Race Relations Act 1976 so that if a close enough link (to be defined) existed between an EEA seafarer and the flag state of the ship on which they were working, they could not be paid at a differential rate from other workers with a similarly close link to the flag state (i.e. resident seafarers).
	Our next steps will be to work closely with all those with an interest in this issue to develop and agree proposed revisions to the RRA 1976, by way of secondary legislation which will then be subject to full consultation.

Merchant Shipping

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the threat to the shipping industry of a terrorist attack; what steps the Government are taking to minimise this risk; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Threats to the shipping industry are assessed by the intelligence agencies. Transport Security Directorate (TRANSEC) of the Department for Transport considers the assessment and implements one of the three security levels prescribed by the International Port Facility and Security Code (ISPS). The security measures required at each security level are proportionate to the threat as assessed and thereby serve to minimise potential risks to the industry. TRANSEC continues to work with industry to ensure that those requirements are proportional, pragmatic and sustainable.

Motorway Crashes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people died as a result of crashes that occurred on hard shoulders of English motorways in 2004.

David Jamieson: The information requested is not available. Final figures for road accidents and casualties in Great Britain in 2004 will become available in June 2005. However, in 2003 there were 10 fatalities in crashes on hard shoulders on English motorways.

Rail Services

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many passengers departed from London Paddington on (a) First Great Western and (b) First Great Western Link services in the latest month for which figures are available, broken down by (i) morning peak time, (ii) afternoon peak time and (iii) off-peak time;
	(2)  how many passengers arrived at London Paddington on (a) First Great Western and (b) First Great Western Link services in the latest month for which figures are available, broken down by (i) morning peak time, (ii) afternoon peak time and (iii) off-peak time.

Tony McNulty: The available daily passenger figures are shown as follows.
	
		
			  (i) morning peak time (ii) afternoon peak time (iii) off-peak time 
		
		
			 FGWL arrivals at Paddington 10,874 — — 
			 FGWL departures from Paddington — 9,627 — 
			 FGW arrivals at Paddington 9,484 — 11,040 
			 FGW departures from Paddington — 9,761 9,021

Rail Services

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of First Great Western Link's latest passenger survey conducted on the route from London Paddington to (a) Maidenhead and (b) Twyford;
	(2)  when First Great Western last conducted a passenger survey of the number of commuters and rail passengers on the route from London Paddington to (a) Maidenhead and (b) Twyford.

Tony McNulty: A copy of First Great Western (FGW) and First Great Western Link (FGWL) survey results for November/December 2004 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Roads

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been allocated for road improvement schemes in the East of England for (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency plans to spend £143 million on major road improvements in the region in 2005–06. Funding allocations of £35 million for 2005–06 have been made to local authorities to progress major road improvement schemes. In addition allocations totalling £65 million for 2005–06 have been made for local authorities to progress lesser transport (including road improvement) capital schemes. It is up to the local authorities to decide how much of this £65 million is spent on road improvements. Allocations have not yet been made for 2006–07 and 2007–08.

Roads

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected cost is for the proposed scheme to upgrade the section of the A11 between the Fiveways Roundabout at Barton Mills in Suffolk and Thetford.

David Jamieson: The scheme budget costs for the A11 Fiveways to Thetford Improvement is currently £60 million. This scheme has been remitted for regional priority setting and that the Highways Agency will be continuing to progress the preparation of the scheme to proceed to construction in 2008–09. The Agency will review the scheme costs as part of that process.

Roads

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he held with his predecessor with regard to the proposed A3 tunnel at Hindhead.

David Jamieson: None.

Shipping

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers exist to regulate shipping movements within UK territorial waters; and who may exercise these powers.

David Jamieson: holding answer 13 January 2005
	The Secretary of State's statutory powers of intervention to regulate shipping in UK territorial waters can be found in Schedule 3A of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, the Marine Safety Act 2003 which amends the 1995 Act and extends his powers, and the Dangerous Vessels Act 1985.
	This gives the Secretary of State for Transport the function of giving direction for, or co-ordinating, measures to reduce risks to life or safety of a ship or ships or prevent, reduce and minimise the effects of marine pollution. The Secretary of State's Representative (SOSREP), or an officer of the Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency acting on SOSREP's behalf, may exercise these functions, including the Secretary of State's intervention powers.
	The UK implements the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, which, among other things, obliges ships to comply with Traffic Separation Schemes, as exists in the English Channel, which have been adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Enforcement of these requirements is carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Other recommendatory routeing measures, for example Areas to be Avoided and Precautionary Areas, are in place to assist safe navigation around the shores of the UK.
	Any action taken by the UK to regulate shipping movements must necessarily be consistent with international law, most particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Trams

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to develop a tram network that would cover the Greater London area in co-operation with London local authorities and the Greater London assembly; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Following the creation of the Greater London authority, Transport for London (TfL), under the Mayor, is responsible for drawing up London's transport strategy and the development of tram schemes in London.

Waterways

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of waterways and canals have been lost for transportation purposes each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: Information is available for Great Britain for 1995 and 2002. Between these years commercial waterway track reduced by 88 km.

Waterways

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many tonnes of freight have been transported on waterways and canals in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: The annual tonnage of freight transported on UK inland waters, including canals, from 1997 to 2003, the latest year for which information is available, was as follows.
	
		
			  UK inland waters freight traffic (million tonnes) 
		
		
			 1997 58.5 
			 1998 57.3 
			 1999 53.8 
			 2000 49.0 
			 2001 53.5 
			 2002 49.0 
			 2003 47.4

Waterways

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of how many additional tonnes of freight have been transported by road rather than on waterways and canals as a result of development of waterways and canals for non-transportation purposes in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: No information is available.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Divisions

John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House what the average number of hon. Members taking part in Divisions at sittings on Fridays has been since June 2001.

Peter Hain: The average number of hon. Members voting in Divisions on a Friday since June 2001 is 68.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Leader of the House by what procedure he intends that the UK Parliament should arrive at a reasoned opinion 
	(1)  as to whether a draft European legislative act fails to comply with the principle of subsidiarity, within six weeks of the receipt of the draft as proposed in article 6 of the second protocol to the proposed EU Constitution;
	(2)  on compliance of a European draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity within six weeks of its transmission to the UK Parliament where that transmission occurs either during or immediately prior to a parliamentary recess.

Peter Hain: It is for the two Houses of Parliament to decide what parliamentary procedures would be most effective to implement the subsidiarity early warning mechanism. The matter is currently under consideration by the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons, and by the House of Lords European Union Committee. Evidence submitted by the European Scrutiny Committee to the Modernisation Committee's inquiry on this point has been published on the Parliament website. The Committees are addressing the question of how the mechanism would operate when Parliament is in recess. The Government awaits the two Committees' recommendations with interest.

Pre-legislative Scrutiny

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House how many (a) written and (b) oral submissions of evidence were made to each pre-legislative scrutiny committee held since 1997; and how many were submitted by (i) individuals, (ii) voluntary sector groups, (iii) statutory sector organisations, (iv) employers and (v) employer organisations.

Peter Hain: Pre-legislative scrutiny has been undertaken by a variety of different committees, in both Houses. A helpful list is provided in the Library's Standard Note on pre-legislative scrutiny (SN/PC/2822, available on the internet at http://www.parliament.uk/works/notes_on_parliament_and_constitution.cfm.)
	The information requested is obtainable from the published reports of these Committees, but could be collated only at disproportionate cost. The annual Sessional Return also provides relevant information, though not categorised in the form requested.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House whether the contracts signed by his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister earlier today.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Files

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether it is the policy of the Department to retain for the benefit of future (a) historians and (b) applicants under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the same (i) complete categories of files, (ii) numbers of files and (iii) representative examples of files from categories of files destroyed as had been preserved prior to the passage of that Act.

Anne McGuire: In accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 S.3, the selection of records of enduring historical value for permanent preservation at The National Archives (TNA) will continue to take place in the Scotland Office under the guidance and supervision of TNA staff. The Office will also comply with the Code of Practice on Records Management, issued by the Lord Chancellor under S.46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which underlines the importance of having clear selection policies and disposal schedules in place.

Departmental Files

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many departmental files have been destroyed in each of the past five years.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since that date, no files have been destroyed.

Departmental Files

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes have been promulgated in each of the past five years to the guidelines or other criteria for the retention or destruction of departmental files.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since that date, the Scotland Office has made no changes to guidelines.

Departmental Telephones

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his policy is on the use of telephones in his Department by members of staff for their personal use for (a) domestic calls and (b) international calls; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Staff are permitted to make limited personal calls of short duration on local networks. In cases where there is a genuine need to make a significant number of personal calls, staff are encouraged to use call cards to have the cost charged to their home telephone. Monitoring of telephone usage is delegated to local managers who are assisted by the provision of reports which provide details of calls made by staff in their area.
	Where it can be justified for business reasons, the Office provides staff with mobile telephones. The use of these phones to make personal calls is permitted on the clear understanding that the cost is refunded. Procedures are in place for the invoices to be reviewed and staff are asked to declare if any calls are personal and refund the cost.
	Access on all phones to international numbers is restricted to those with a business need and is only provided when authorised by local managers. Calls to premium rate numbers are barred.

Departmental Telephones

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures have been taken to ensure the telephones in his Department are not used by staff for making unauthorised personal calls to international numbers.

Anne McGuire: Access to international numbers is only granted to staff that have a business need to make such calls and is provided only when authorised by local managers.

Departmental Telephones

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the estimated cost to his Department is of unauthorised personal calls made by members of staff to (a) domestic numbers and (b) international numbers.

Anne McGuire: Details of unauthorised personal calls by members of staff to domestic numbers are not held centrally and therefore no estimate of costs can be provided. Access to international numbers is only granted to staff that have a business need to make such calls and is provided only when authorised by local managers.

Invoice Payments

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the average length of time was between the date of invoices issued to his Department from a supplier and payment by the Department of the invoice in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what percentage of these invoices were paid within 30 days of the date of issue of the invoice; what percentage of these invoices remained unpaid after 90 days; and if he will make a statement on the Department's policy on the payment of invoices issued to it.

Anne McGuire: During the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004, the Scotland Office, which also provides support to the Office of the Advocate-General, paid supplier invoices, on average, within 26.6 days (unaudited figure). During this period, the offices paid 96.8 per cent. of undisputed invoices within 30 days or the agreed credit terms. The Offices had one payment unpaid after 90 days, which represents 0.0002 per cent. of invoices.
	The Government are committed to improving the payment culture in the UK in order to create a fair and stable environment for business transactions. Government Departments and their agencies should aim to pay all invoices not in dispute within 30 days or within the agreed contractual terms if otherwise specified; the Offices support this policy.

Travel Costs

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total travel costs to his Department have been for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials for each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 9 December 2004
	The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.
	Since 1999 the Government have published, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. The travel costs of special advisers who accompany their Minister overseas are included in the annual list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers.
	Since 1 July 1999, the other travel costs by the Scotland Office were:
	
		£
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(1) 
		
		
			 Ministers 27,783 36,843 30,570 19,788 1,155 
			 Special Advisers 10,246 20,700 33,888 37,672 16,841 
			 Officials 108,990 188,930 219,876 241,629 181,872 
			 Total 147,019 246,473 284,334 290,089 199,868 
		
	
	(1) Since June 2003, part of the travel costs of the Secretary of State have been met by the Department of Transport.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the "Ministerial Code" and "Travel by Ministers" and all official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in the Civil Service Management Code, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of child soldiers in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: There is no reliable information on the number of child soldiers in Darfur.
	The United Kingdom has raised this issue with the Government of Sudan and the rebel movement on a regular basis. DFID will continue to work closely with organisations such as UNICEF, who are the main co-ordinators in the child protection sector, to address this issue.

Departmental Entertainment Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent on entertainment by his Department in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) food, (b) alcohol, (c) staff and (d) accommodation.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Figures for entertainment within administration costs budgets for years for which information is readily available are shown as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1996–97 10,000 
			 1997–98 24,000 
			 1998–99 43,000 
			 1999–2000 62,000 
			 2000–01 48,000 
			 2001–02 55,000 
			 2002–03 82,000 
			 2003–04 219,000 
		
	
	The figures for entertainment include working breakfasts and lunches, refreshments at meetings and official entertainment. It is not possible to disaggregate specific entertainment costs relating to food, alcohol, staff and accommodation without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	All entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.
	In 2003–04 DFID introduced new procedures to draw together administration costs, including those entertainment costs which had previously been recorded on country programme budgets. These changes have improved transparency and management of administration costs, but mean that figures from 2003–04 now include entertainment costs that were previously funded by country programmes and as a result are not comparable with earlier years.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Department spent on lawyers in each year since 1997; how many (a) actions, (b) settlements and (c) court cases there were in each year; and what the costs were of each settlement.

Hilary Benn: DFID obtains advice on litigation through the Treasury Solicitor's Department. The cost of this advice for the years in question was as follows.
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 12,761 
			 1998–99 1,288 
			 1999–2000 5,969 
			 2000–01 11,085 
			 2001–02 51,587 
			 2002–03 38,993 
			 2003–04 63,043 
			 2004–05 18,146 
		
	
	DFID does not hold information centrally on the details and costs of individual cases, which could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the House last year by the Foreign Secretary on 16 June 2003, Official Report, columns 44–45W.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the running costs of the Department were in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones, (e) mobile telephones and (f) televisions.

Hilary Benn: Figures for UK based offices for electricity, water, gas and telephone costs within administration budgets for years for which information is readily available are shown as follows.
	
		£
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Electricity 215,537 260,566 290,160 
			 Water 71,408 37,716 44,409 
			 Gas 311,571 320,792 355,858 
			 Telephones 706,000 586,000 592,000 
		
	
	Information for earlier years is not readily available and in some cases will no longer be held also it is not possible to disaggregate separate costs for mobile phones or televisions without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Earthquake Aid

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been given by the UK Government to the reconstruction in Bam, Iran, in the aftermath of the earthquake of 2003, broken down by (a) monetary aid and (b) resources and materials; and what proportion has been sent so far to the area.

Hilary Benn: Following the earthquake in Bam, the Department for International Development committed £1,676,640 to support immediate humanitarian needs and rebuild livelihoods. £1,206,640 was channelled through United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations as financial support.
	From the balance, DFID provided 68 search and rescue specialists and four DFID personnel, 450 family winter tents and other shelter materials for distribution by the Iranian Red Crescent as well as two cargo aircraft put at the disposal of the Iranian Government.
	In addition, the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office contributed €8.5 million for emergency relief and rehabilitation of which the UK's share was €1.445 million (£1.01 million).

Earthquake Aid

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the value was of the total UK contribution to the earthquake emergencies and reconstructions in (a) Bhuj, India and (b) Bam, Iran.

Hilary Benn: In response to the earthquake in Bhuj, India, the Department for International Development provided £8,749,426 for emergency relief and to help to rebuild livelihoods. This money was channelled through international organisations such as the UN agencies and the Red Cross, and international and local non-governmental organisations. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are funding the reconstruction programme with loans of US $1 billion and US $500 million respectively.
	Following the Bam earthquake, DFID committed £1,676,640 for the immediate and medium term relief. In addition, the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office contributed €8.5 million for emergency relief and rehabilitation of which the UK's share was €1.445 million (£1.01 million).

Emergency Reserve

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds remain in his Department's emergency reserve; and what plans he has to increase them.

Hilary Benn: DFID has now fully allocated its Central Contingency Reserve for 2004–05 to fund humanitarian relief programmes in tsunami affected countries. We retain a small provision within our humanitarian budget for continuing humanitarian responses over the remaining period of this financial year.

EU Presidency

Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what priorities have been identified for action in the fields of international reconstruction and development during the UK's presidency of the EU.

Hilary Benn: 2005 is a year of opportunity for development, with the UK presidencies of the G8 and the European Union, the United Nations Millennium Review Summit in September and the World Trade Organisation Ministerial in Hong Kong in December. As the world's largest aid donor and key trading partner of most developing countries, the EU has a very important role to play in seizing this opportunity and helping to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
	The Government's first task during the EU presidency will be to take forward the work we inherit from the Luxembourg presidency. This is likely to feature discussions on development financing and crisis management. It will also include reconstruction work following the Indian Ocean tsunami and the EU's contribution to reconstruction and development work in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
	We plan to use the meetings that we will chair to focus the EU on helping to meet the MDGs with particular attention on Africa and diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We will also seek to further improve the effectiveness and poverty-focus of EC external spending.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what medical facilities are available to treat civilians injured during the last attack on Fallujah.

Hilary Benn: The Iraqi Ministry of Health (MoH) is responsible for providing adequate medical facilities and healthcare for all of the population of Iraq. The MoH made provisions to treat injured civilians during military operations in Fallujah at hospitals and clinics near to the city. Multi-National Force-Iraq also had medical facilities at a base near Fallujah which were available to treat injured civilians in emergencies. The main hospital in Fallujah is now operational and the Iraqi Ministry of Health has delivered adequate basic medical supplies to the hospital and to clinics in the city. Most of Fallujah's civilian population left the city before military operations began and have been provided with essential food, water, shelter and medical supplies in the surrounding area.

Iraq

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of residents of Fallujah who have been able to return to their homes; what assistance has been provided by (a) the UK Government, (b) the US Administration and (c) the Iraqi authorities to the residents of Fallujah; what the cost of the assistance has been in each case; what assessment he has made of the conditions in which residents who have not returned to their homes are living; what assessment he has made of provisions made for them to participate in the Iraqi elections; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Most areas of Fallujah are now open to the returning population. The number of people returning to the city is increasing steadily. By 14 January, over 100,000 people had crossed the checkpoints into the city since returns began on 23 December although far fewer are staying overnight. It is estimated that between 8,000 and 15,000 citizens are now living in the city.
	The Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) is leading on assistance to the people of Fallujah. The IIG Fallujah Core Co-ordination Group is liaising with multi-national and Iraqi forces who are providing security in the city, and is co-ordinating the provision of essential supplies by Iraqi Government Ministries. Food, medical items, tents and plastic sheeting, and water by tanker and bottle are getting through to the people in Fallujah. The IIG is providing an initial $100 welfare payment for each family returning to the city, and is finalising plans for more extensive compensation for damaged homes and businesses. Figures are not yet available on the cost of this assistance.
	The IIG is also developing medium and long-term reconstruction plans for the city and has set aside funds from the Iraqi budget for this work. The Minister of Industry has been charged with coordinating the work of the key Iraqi ministries involved.
	DFID is providing advice to the IIG Core Co-ordination Group on health, humanitarian and coordination issues, and DFID staff have made assessment visits to Fallujah.
	United States military forces operating in the area have established Humanitarian Assistance sites in the city and have announced that they will provide $200 for each household in Fallujah. US forces are also helping to provide security for the returning families, which has been good so far. United States agencies report that they have planned around 100 reconstruction projects in the Fallujah area totalling $84.1 million. Several US-funded projects have been contracted and are due to begin soon, including a $20 million project to refurbish the sewerage system, and projects to refurbish and equip local council offices.
	A large proportion of Fallujah's population is yet to return to the city. Many families are staying in the surrounding area, mostly with host families or in public buildings. Iraqi ministries and aid agencies continue to deliver essential supplies to these areas. Welfare payments for displaced people are being distributed through banks in the areas where they are currently living.
	The Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq (IECI) has established plans to allow Fallujah's displaced citizens to vote in the national elections at the end of January. The IECI has made special arrangements for same-day registration and voting at centres spread across the Al Anbar Governorate, and has asked Multi-National Force-Iraq to provide extra security at polling stations.

IT Projects

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list his Department's IT projects for each year since 1997, broken down by (a) amount spent, (b) purpose, (c) cost of over-run and (d) time of over-run.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: This question cannot be answered without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Newspapers/Periodicals

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the (a) newspapers and (b) periodicals taken by his Department in each year since 1997; and how much the Department spent on each in each year.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID lists as follows the cost for newspapers and periodicals from 1997 to the last full financial year. All costs before 2002 were from a central budget. After 2002 only core newspapers and periodicals were centrally funded and access transferred from print to electronic editions (for heavily used and requested periodicals). Due to the disproportionate cost of listing every newspaper and periodical taken since 1997 only the current core centrally funded newspapers and periodicals are listed.
	
		(a) Newspapers
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 4,786.32 
			 1998–99 5,151 
			 1999–2000 5,748 
			 2000–01 2,540 
			 2001–02 3,827.05 
			 2002–03 2,514.13 
			 2003–04 6,341.17 
		
	
	
		Current Newspapers
		
			  Subscriptions Copies (Monday to Friday) Annual cost (£) 
		
		
			 Daily Telegraph 1 156.00 
			 East Kilbride News 1 30.16 
			 Financial Times 2 520.00 
			 Guardian 2 312.00 
			 Herald 1 143.00 
			 Independent 2 312.00 
			 Scotsman 1 130.00 
			 Times 2 260.00 
			 Total cost — 1,863.16 
		
	
	
		(b) Periodicals
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 57,639.38 
			 1998–99 63,000.00 
			 1999–2000 65,660.00 
			 2000–01 97,824.00 
			 2001–02 75,609.00 
			 2002–03 131,323.00 
			 2003–04 108,112.00 
		
	
	
		Current periodicals
		
			 Subscriptions Number of copies Annual cost (£) 
		
		
			 Africa Analysis (electronic) 1 1,530.36 
			 Africa Confidential—Oxford (electronic) 1 500.78 
			 Africa Health 1 69.33 
			 Africa Insight 1 33.49 
			 Africa Research Bulletin: Series B Economic Series (electronic) 1 690.31 
			 Africa Today—Bloomington 1 87.58 
			 African Business 1 47.09 
			 African Farming and Food Processing 1 63.57 
			 African Journal of Reproductive Health 1 82.16 
			 AIDS: an International Monthly Journal (electronic) 1 977.95 
			 Assessment in Education: Principles Policy and Practice (electronic) 1 368.93 
			 BBC Focus on Africa 1 27.08 
			 Bookseller & Bookseller Buyer's Guide & Children's Buyer's Guide 1 204.12 
			 British National Bibliography—Option 5 1 512.08 
			 Bulletpoint 1 464.99 
			 Business in Africa 1 126.20 
			 Cambridge University Press Online License Cost 1 2,556.30 
			 Cepal Review 1 27.16 
			 Cities: the International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning (electronic) 1 595.57 
			 Coastal Management (electronic) 1 347.10 
			 Community Development Journal (electronic) 1 142.91 
			 Comparative Education (electronic) 1 684.42 
			 Comparative Education Review & CIES Newsletter 1 98.96 
			 Convergence—Leicester 1 40.02 
			 Democratization (electronic) 1 286.96 
			 Development: Journal of the Society for International Development 1 311.96 
			 Development and Change (electronic) 1 352.45 
			 Development and Cooperation 1 8.77 
			 Development in Practice (electronic) 1 318.31 
			 Development Policy Review (electronic) 1 310.07 
			 Disaster Prevention and Management (electronic) 1 3,765.86 
			 Disasters: the Journal of Disaster Studies and Management (electronic) 1 267.69 
			 Ecologist 1 32.96 
			 Economic Development and Cultural Change 1 152.70 
			 Economic Journal & Econometrics Journal (electronic) 1 325.38 
			 Economic Outlook—Oxford (electronic) 1 851.58 
			 Economics of Transition (electronic) 1 275.93 
			 The Economist—UK Edition 6 682.98 
			 Economist.com (electronic) 1 14,013.59 
			 Economist Intelligence Unit Country Reports and Profiles (electronic) 60 countries 25,886.25 
			 ELT Journal: English Language Teaching (electronic) 1 112.30 
			 Energy Economist 1 796.84 
			 ENS (electronic) 1 360.00 
			 Environment and Development Economics (electronic) 1 171.87 
			 Environment and Urbanisation 1 95.82 
			 Environment Business News Briefing 1 379.00 
			 Environmental Conservation (electronic) 1 249.57 
			 Environmental Policy and Law (electronic) 1 353.60 
			 Environmentalist—Dordrecht 1 394.35 
			 Ethnic and Racial Studies (electronic) 1 265.34 
			 Far Eastern Economic Review 1 157.09 
			 Food Policy: Economics Planning and Politics of Food Agriculture (electronic) 1 630.32 
			 Foreign Affairs—Palm Coast 1 52.42 
			 Foreign Policy—Boulder 6 32.50 
			 Gender and Development (electronic) 1 139.38 
			 Gender Technology and Development 1 136.56 
			 Geographical 2 70.04 
			 Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy Dimensions—Part A (electronic) 1 437.18 
			 Government Computing—London 1 81.00 
			 Habitat International (electronic) 1 858.20 
			 Hansard—House of Commons 2 2,937.00 
			 Hansard—House of Lords 2 1,308.30 
			 Health Economics (electronic) 1 729.91 
			 Health Exchange—London 1 32.40 
			 Health Policy and Planning (electronic) 1 258.28 
			 Human Rights Quarterly 1 104.43 
			 IDS Bulletin & IDS Policy Briefings (electronic)) 1 840.00 
			 Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 1 157.04 
			 India Today International—UK Edition 1 78.16 
			 Interights Bulletin 1 56.51 
			 International Journal of Educational Development (electronic) 1 600.42 
			 International Journal of Finance and Economics (electronic) 1 397.51 
			 International Journal of Health Planning and Management (electronic) 1 1,025.15 
			 International Journal of Project Management (electronic) 1 726.48 
			 International Journal of Water Resources Development (electronic) 1 559.64 
			 International Migration Review 1 65.69 
			 International Review of Education 1 236.77 
			 Island Business Magazine 1 36.49 
			 Jane's Foreign Report 1 234.26 
			 Journal of African Economies (electronic) 1 233.55 
			 Journal of Agricultural Economics 1 148.33 
			 Journal of Development Communication 1 28.46 
			 Journal of Development Economics (electronic) 1 1,077.20 
			 Journal of Development Studies—London (electronic) 1 806.14 
			 Journal of Human Development (electronic) 1 206.48 
			 Journal of International Development (electronic) 1 704.04 
			 Journal of Knowledge Management (electronic) 1 1,011.21 
			 Journal of Modern African Studies (electronic) 1 160.10 
			 Journal of Policy Reform (electronic) 1 181.29 
			 Journal of Refugee Studies (electronic) 1 178.23 
			 Journal of Social Development in Africa 1 43.53 
			 Journal of Sustainable Tourism (electronic) 1 304.19 
			 KM Review 1 311.96 
			 The Lancet (electronic) 1 591.42 
			 Land Use Policy (electronic) 1 508.29 
			 Latin American Weekly Report (electronic) 1 2,458.46 
			 Management Today & Professional Manager 1 90.06 
			 Marine Policy (electronic) 1 636.78 
			 Media Asia 1 32.26 
			 MEED Middle East Economic Digest (Including special reports) 1 482.65 
			 Middle East International 1 145.26 
			 Modern Power Systems 1 141.73 
			 National Geographic 2 71.10 
			 National Institute Economic Review (electronic) 1 269.58 
			 New African 1 47.09 
			 New Internationalist 2 67.94 
			 New Scientist—UK Edition 6 671.10 
			 New Statesman—London 3 494.43 
			 Newsweek—International Edition 3 154.14 
			 Ocean and Coastal Management (electronic) 1 1,002.85 
			 Oxford Development Studies (electronic) 1 520.79 
			 Oxford Economic Papers (electronic) 1 220.60 
			 Oxford Review of Economic Policy (electronic) 1 239.44 
			 Pakistan Development Review 1 103.72 
			 People Management 2 215.18 
			 Platt's Global Water Report 1 917.37 
			 Population and Development Review (electronic) 1 108.98 
			 Prospect 1 48.75 
			 Public Administration—Oxford (electronic) 1 397.18 
			 Public Administration and Development (electronic) 1 769.72 
			 Public Money and Management (electronic) 1 408.96 
			 Quarterly Journal of Economics (electronic) 1 165.29 
			 Refugee Survey Quarterly (electronic) 1 140.56 
			 Reproductive Health Matters (electronic) 1 52.53 
			 Research Evaluation 1 119.37 
			 Research Fortnight 1 495.00 
			 Research in Education—Manchester 1 106.42 
			 Research in Science and Technological Education (electronic) 1 486.65 
			 Review of African Political Economy (electronic) 1 310.78 
			 Sage Public Administration Abstracts 1 636.87 
			 Savings and Development 1 61.07 
			 Social Policy and Administration (electronic) 1 484.30 
			 Soundview Executive Book Summaries 1 112.12 
			 Sociology—Cambridge (electronic) 1 258.98 
			 Spectator—Romford 3 370.83 
			 Studies in Family Planning (electronic) 1 108.98 
			 Sustainable Development—Bognor Regis (electronic) 1 547.46 
			 Third World Quarterly (electronic) 1 663.23 
			 Time—Atlantic Edition 3 177.21 
			 Times Educational Supplement—including TES Teacher 1 94.18 
			 Times Higher Education Supplement 1 67.57 
			 Times Literary Supplement 1 120.54 
			 Tips and Advice on the Internet (electronic) 1 78.00 
			 Urban Studies (electronic) 1 868.06 
			 Water 21 1 217.78 
			 Waterlines 1 41.20 
			 World Development (electronic) 1 1,363.26 
			 World Water and Environmental Engineering 1 104.77 
			 Total cost  99,743.25

Ottawa Convention

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the outcome of the Review Conference relating to the Ottawa Convention; what the positions of the UK Government were; and to what extent they were achieved.

Hilary Benn: Notwithstanding the fact that much progress has been made by the international community since the entry into force of the Ottawa Convention in 1999, the Government is fully aware of the suffering still caused by anti-personnel landmines. The United Kingdom thus stressed throughout the preparatory stage, that the first Review Conference should be used, not only to celebrate the achievements of the last five years, but also to refocus efforts over the next five years on the continuing humanitarian cost of anti-personnel landmines.
	Outcomes which reflected the UK's aspirations for the Conference included:
	(i) a 70-point action plan 2005–09 to direct further work under the Convention;
	(ii) acknowledgement in the action plan of the need for building mine action into wider development programmes;
	(iii) recognition that mine action is fundamental to the advancement of the Millennium Development Goals;
	(iv) recognition that broadening and increasing the funding base for mine action is essential;
	(v) recognition of the desirability of integrating mine action into the programmes of the World Bank and regional development banks.
	DFID will continue to be a major donor in global mine action and has plans to spend at least £10 million per year for the next three years.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the then Minister for the Cabinet Office, (Ruth Kelly) on 13 December 2004, Official Report, column 946W.

Special Advisers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many special advisers there are in the Department, broken down by civil service pay-grade.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member for Tatton to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, (Mr. Miliband) on 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1604W.

Sri Lanka

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Sri Lankan Government to ensure that all Tamil communities in Sri Lanka are now receiving food, medical supplies and other assistance; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: During my visit to Sri Lanka on 8 January I met with local government officials and MPs in Batticola. Officials in the DFID Sri Lanka office are holding regular discussions with government officials concerning the needs, priorities and strategies in relation to the delivery of humanitarian assistance. DFID's humanitarian response has been channelled through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement, and non-governmental organisations and in direct in kind help aimed at addressing immediate needs. DFID has supported the United Nations in undertaking impact and needs assessments, coordination, technical advice and air movements logistics support. The assistance that we have provided, and are supporting, is geographically spread throughout the country. This includes substantial support to Tamil communities in proportion to needs across the country.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has (a) been stolen and (b) been reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article;
	(2)  how many items of civil service property within his Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The number of items reported stolen or lost in the UK and overseas is as set out: Information for 1997 is not readily available and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Lost Stolen 
		
		
			 1998 Printer 2Xlaptops 
			  Answer phone 10Xcomputers 
			  Tape recorder — 
			 2000 4Xlaptops Vehicle 
			  Cutlery — 
			 2001 Pager 3Xtelephones 
			  Disc drive Fax machine 
			  — 2Xscanners 
			  — 2Xlaser printers 
			  — Colour printer 
			  — Laptop 
			  — Vehicle 
			 2002 Conference phone Video camera 
			  2Xlaptops 7Xlaptops 
			  Books 3Xvehicles 
			  2XVCR Building materials 
			  — 2Xprojectors 
			  — Digital camera 
			 2003 Laptop 6Xlaptops 
			  Cutlery — 
			 2004 — 2Xlaptops 
			  — Digital camera

Tsunami Relief

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will publish written statements on a monthly basis on the progress of UK Government aid to countries hit by the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami indicating (a) amounts spent in pounds sterling, (b) quantity and nature of materials purchased and (c) the proportion of materials sent out to those countries in need.

Hilary Benn: DFID presently produces daily situation reports that are published on the Department for International Development's website: www.dfid.gov.uk. We will continue to keep the House informed of our continuing relief effort, by means of written statements as appropriate.

Tsunami Relief

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development from which funds money pledged by the Government to help the victims of the Indian earthquake and tsunami has been provided; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement made by the Prime Minister to the House of Commons on 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 24. As the Prime Minister explained, the Government have so far committed £75 million towards the immediate humanitarian response to the Indian Ocean disaster. The Government's commitment has been funded from both DFID's and HM Treasury's contingency budgets comprising: DFID's humanitarian contingency budget (£20 million), DFID's central Contingency Reserve (£30 million), and the Treasury's Reserve (£25 million).

Tsunami Relief

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to ascertain the humanitarian situation in Burma following the Asian tsunami disaster; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: At the onset of the disaster, a Tsunami Assistance Co-ordination Group, composed of international NGOs, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and UN agencies and chaired by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was established in Burma. Over the next 10 days, Co-ordination Group members undertook a series of assessment and verification missions—to the Rakhine Coast, the Irawaddy Delta and the southern coast including the most populated islands of the Myeik archipelago and the islands off Kawthaung around Lampi Island. On 6 January 2005, the group met to consolidate the findings of the different assessment and verification missions. It concluded that Burma had been largely spared from the destructive forces of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and that initial emergency needs had been met. The group's assessment was a death toll of 60 to 80, and an estimated longer-term affected population of 10,000 to 15,000 (of whom 5,000 to 7,000 were directly affected). Assessment of longer-term reconstruction and rehabilitation needs is currently ongoing.

Tsunami Relief

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to co-ordinate the contributions of different donor countries to the tsunami disaster relief programmes.

Hilary Benn: The lead responsibility for co-ordinating the response to the disaster rests with the United Nations. Margareta Wahlstrom has been appointed as the United Nations Special Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Assistance in Tsunami Affected Countries and is working in the region. A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is expected to be appointed for the region.
	Immediately following news of the disaster, we provided two experts to the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination mechanism for deployment to affected countries. DFID has since been providing a range of practical assistance to help the United Nations be sufficiently equipped and resourced to meet its co-ordination and response role.
	International co-ordination is also being progressed through a series of international meetings. On 6 January, the Foreign Secretary attended the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, in Jakarta, my Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State attended the meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) of the European Union, in Brussels on 7 January, and on 11 January, I attended a donor conference arranged by the United Nations, in Geneva, following the launch of their Regional Appeal. DFID has pledged a contribution of £40 million in response to this Appeal from our £75 million allocation to the immediate relief effort.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

BAE Systems

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department has been asked (a) to supply information to and (b) to co-operate with the Serious Fraud Office in respect of its investigation into allegations of bribery and false accounting concerning BAE Systems and Saudi Arabian officials.

Douglas Alexander: It would be wrong to comment on individual investigations, as it would risk prejudicing the investigation. However, ECGD will co-operate fully with any requests for co-operation from authorities investigating allegations of bribery and corruption.

Distance Marketing Directive

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government are taking to comply with the European Distance Marketing Directive.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government consulted in July 2003 and the Financial Services Authority consulted in September 2003 on the approaches to implementing European Directive 2002/65/EC concerning the Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services.
	The Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004 made Under Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 2095 was laid before Parliament on 5 August 2004 and came into force in the UK on 31 October 2004. The Financial Services Authority amended its Handbook to implement the Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Directive.

Fuel Poverty

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the (a) Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the (b) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about (i) fuel poverty, (ii) energy efficiency and the (iii) take-up of energy-related benefits.

Mike O'Brien: There is regular contact between the Departments on fuel poverty related issues, energy efficiency and the take up of energy-related benefits. We also work closely with other interested Departments including the Department for Work and Pensions with a view to assisting the fuel poor.

Oil

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what part of the recent increase in the price of oil was attributed by Ofgem to market sentiment and risk; and what assessment she has made of who the beneficiaries of those elements of the increase are.

Mike O'Brien: In October, Ofgem released the final report of its gas price probe, which analysed the potential causes of the significant movements in forward gas prices for winter 2004–05, Ofgem estimated that up to 46 per cent. of the price increases for contracts delivering in this period related to apparent higher risk premium and general market sentiment, with the rest attributed to the link to oil prices, declining indigenous production on the UK Continental Shelf, and the cost of storage. The DTI has not made a specific assessment of who benefits from price increases because such an assessment would be necessarily complex and is likely to be quickly out of date.

Post Office Card Account

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many computer failures of the Citibank Post Office card account system there were in 2004; on which dates; and what measures are being taken to prevent such failures.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 13 January 2005
	The Department of Trade and Industry has no role in the operation of the Post Office card account, which is a commercial matter that falls within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civil servants from her Department have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Staff facing disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft 2 3 3 1 0 
			 Staff charged with disciplinary offences relating to allegations of theft 2 3 3 1 0 
			 Staff dismissed following allegations relating to theft 2 2 2 1 0 
		
	
	Data prior to 2000 is not available. Detailed information on disciplinary cases is normally retained for a period of five years.
	All DTI staff and staff working in DT Executive Agencies are responsible for familiarising themselves with the general standards of conduct set out in departmental guidance. Any breach of the principles of conduct may result in disciplinary action.
	Any member of staff who is charged with a criminal offence, or is convicted of such an offence, must inform the Department as soon as possible.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Albania

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Albanian Government on provision of information to Albanian women who are considering offers of employment in the UK, with particular reference to the entertainment industry; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The UK is committed to combating the trafficking of women from Albania to the UK for prostitution. Both bilaterally, and through the European Union, we have repeatedly emphasised that one of the conditions for Albania's signature of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union is progress in tackling organised crime, particularly human trafficking. When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Albanian Foreign Minister last February, he emphasised this and the need for urgent action.
	The UK, both bilaterally and within the EU, is offering practical assistance in this area. We are funding vocational training for women in the North and shelters for trafficked women on the coast. We also fund a forensic policing unit in Tirana to provide evidence against the criminals. We contribute 19 per cent. (or £6 million annually) to the European Commission's CARDS assistance programme in Albania. This includes large police and customs assistance programmes to increase Albanian law enforcement capacity.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to raise the issue of atrocities against the (a) Karen, (b) Karenni and (c) Shan peoples of Burma at the United Nations Security Council.

Douglas Alexander: The UK works closely with its UN partners to promote political reform and full respect for human rights in Burma.
	We have raised our concerns about the situation in Burma with our Security Council partners. However, there is no consensus at present to bring Burma before the Security Council.
	Atrocities against ethnic groups in Burma have been condemned in successive UK co-sponsored UN Resolutions on Burma.

Burma

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burmese regime regarding the attack by the Burmese Army against Karen villages in Hsaw Htee Township, Nyaunglebin District, Karen State, on 14 November; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We are aware of the report of this attack provided by the Free Burma Rangers, which has been highlighted by Christian Solidarity Worldwide. We have not made representations to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) about this specific attack. However, the Burmese regime is well aware of our concern about human rights abuses in ethnic minority areas. We are particularly concerned that offensives continue in Karen State despite the ongoing cease-fire talks with the Karen National Union (KNU).
	Human rights violations suffered by persons belonging to ethnic groups have been highlighted by successive highly critical UK and EU co-sponsored UN Resolutions.

Burma

Anne Picking: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the merits of appointing an EU special envoy to Burma.

Denis MacShane: We fully support the existing envoys: the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Sergio Pinheiro, and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Tan Sri Razali Ismail. These representatives speak for the international community as a whole and we would not wish to do anything that deflected attention from their efforts.
	We urge the Burmese regime to allow them to return to Burma. They have a crucial role to play.

Consultants

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which consultant organisations are undertaking work for his Department; what the title of each project is; what the cost is of each project; and on what date each tender was awarded.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 13 January 2005
	Due to the large number of consultants involved and because the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold centrally details on all of the consultant organisations that it employs to undertake work on its behalf, information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, I have placed in the Library of the House details of the consultant organisations currently working on FCO administration work and capital projects. I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 13 December 2004 (Official Report, column 895W).

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department spent on first-class travel in each year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: First class travel costs are not readily identifiable from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) accounting system and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The FCO's general policy is as follows:
	Rail travel in the UK(staff above the grade of C4 or C5 are entitled to first class travel;
	Air travel (staff of the rank of permanent secretary are entitled to first class travel on flights over three hours. Certain other members of staff may also qualify where there are operational reasons.

Disabled Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the staff employed by his Department have a declared disability.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the Civil Service by Department. These include data on the number of staff who have a declared disability.
	The latest information, at April 2004, is available in the Library of the House and also on the Civil Service website at the following addresses.
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/publications/xls/gender_apr04_4nov04.xls
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_ information/statistical_information/statistics/publications/xls/disability_ apr04_4nov04.xls
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently has 120 officers who have declared a disability.
	We are working in a variety of ways to improve the diversity of the FCO's staff, including increasing the number of officers with declared disabilities. These include a positive action workshop for disabled staff, guidance for all staff on disability and reasonable adjustments, monitoring of our promotion procedures, a Board disability champion, a disability advisory group and staff network, and the requirement for all staff to have diversity training and objectives.

Euro Group

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the significance, in the protocol on the Euro Group in the EU Constitution, of the expression pending the Euro becoming the currency of all member states of the Union; and what representations the Government made on this matter during the negotiations.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	This protocol does not apply to the UK unless it decides to join the euro. The separate status of the United Kingdom is dealt with in Protocol 13 of the Constitution. This carries forward the existing terms of the UK's opt-out from the euro and economic and monetary union, set out in the protocol annexed to the treaty establishing the European Community by the Maastricht treaty on European Union.

Euro Group

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the legal status of reference to the development of ever-closer co-ordination of economic policies within the euro area in the protocol on the Euro Group of the EU Constitution.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	This reference forms part of the preamble to the protocol on the Euro Group: it therefore has no substantive legal effect, but contributes to the context for interpretation of the protocol. This protocol does not apply to the UK unless it decides to join the euro.

Euro Group

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) role, (b) office and (c) duties, of the Presidency of the Euro Zone countries, under the Protocol on the Euro Group in the draft EU Constitution.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The internal management of the Euro Group, including defining the role, office and duties of its President, will be a matter for the members of the Euro Group to determine. Under the draft EU Constitution, decisions would continue to be taken by all member states within ECOFIN where an issue affects the economic interests of all member states.

European Constitution

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list UK Government amendments proposed to the European Constitution that were rejected.

Denis MacShane: Formal amendments to the Convention's draft during the Intergovernmental Conference were proposed by the Italian and Irish Presidencies rather than individual member states. I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 7 July 2004, Official Report, column 767W, setting out the Government's position regarding these amendments.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to publish the regulatory impact assessment for the bill to give effect to the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union subject to a referendum.

Denis MacShane: It is the Government's intention to publish a regulatory impact assessment on the EU Bill when it is introduced to Parliament.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how much the Government plans to spend on information regarding the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union prior to the proposed referendum;
	(2)  what his Department is planning to spend on providing public information regarding the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union in advance of and during the proposed referendum.

Denis MacShane: For financial year 2004–05 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget for informing the public about the EU, including about the proposed EU Constitutional Treaty, is £613,000.
	No budget has yet been allocated for the next financial year and a date has not yet been set for a referendum.

European Constitution

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he intends to distribute a copy of the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union to every household.

Denis MacShane: There are no current plans for such a distribution.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the United Kingdom's territorial cohesion with other EU member states, referred to in article 1–3(3) of the proposed EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The reference to territorial cohesion in Article 1–3(3) of the Constitutional Treaty should be understood in the context of Articles III-220 to III-224 of the treaty. These Articles envisage Union action for the strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in particular aimed at reducing disparities between the levels of development of various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions. They are in substance the same as Title XVII of the treaty establishing the European Communities, which deals with economic and social cohesion and derive from the 1993 Maastricht Treaty on European Union.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will define the principle of sincere co-operation referred to in article 1–5(2) of the proposed EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The principle of sincere co-operation is a general principle of EU law which has been reflected in the treaties since the creation of the Communities (see for example Article 5 EC Treaty). Its general meaning is that member states must in good faith facilitate and not undermine the tasks that they have agreed for the EU.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what circumstances discrimination on the grounds of nationality would be permissible under the proposed EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: Article 1–4(2) of the Constitutional Treaty (which is in substance identical to Article 12(1) of the treaty establishing the European Community) provides that within the scope of the Constitution, and without prejudice to any of its specific provisions, any discrimination on ground of nationality shall be prohibited. It is not possible to set out in the abstract the circumstances in which discrimination on grounds of nationality might fall within the exceptions permitted by EU law (whether under existing law or under the Constitutional Treaty). That would depend entirely on the facts of the case.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what internal frontiers impede the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice as required by article 1–3 of the proposed EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The creation of an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers (as set out in Article 1–3 of the proposed EU Constitution) is one of the objectives of the European Union under existing treaties. It reflects articles in the treaty establishing the European Community (articles 14, 61 and 62).
	The majority of member states participate in the full provisions of the Schengen 'acquis' which include the removal of internal frontier controls. The UK participates in the police and judicial co-operation provisions of the Schengen acquis but not those relating to borders, visas or the lifting of internal controls, and it has retained its frontier controls with other EU member states. The UK has been a key player in the field of justice and home affairs and, not withstanding its maintenance of border controls, contributes fully to the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the categories of persons belonging to minorities are, referred to in Article 1–2 of the proposed EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: Article 1–2 of the Constitutional Treaty refers, among other things, to
	"respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities".
	Whether a person belonged to a particular minority for these purposes would depend on the circumstances.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's understanding is of the term, open to all European states, in Article 1–1 of the proposed EU Constitution; and which states are included in this definition.

Denis MacShane: The section of Article 1–1 referred to should be read in its entirety. It reads
	"The Union shall be open to all European States which respect its values and are committed to promoting them together".
	This means that any European State may apply to join the Union and will be judged on the basis of whether it meets the stated requirements and against established criteria.
	There is no exact definition of a European State. The four countries in the European Free Trade Area (ie Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) are clearly European. The Feira European Council in 2000 agreed that as well as the then candidates (Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey), Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and the Union of Serbia and Montenegro are considered potential candidates. No decisions have been taken on the eligibility of other countries.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) the Welsh Assembly, (b) the Northern Ireland Executive and (c) the Scottish Parliament constitute regional parliaments for the purposes of Article 6 of the second protocol to the proposed EU constitution.

Denis MacShane: Article 6 of Protocol 2 of the EU Constitutional Treaty states that
	"It will be for each national Parliament or each chamber of a national Parliament to consult, where appropriate, regional parliaments with legislative powers".
	In the Government's view, this suggests, in the United Kingdom, the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament, and the Northern Ireland Assembly (not the Executive). However, Article 6 makes clear that the nature and extent of consultation on the principle of subsidiarity is for national Parliaments to decide. The House of Lords European Union Committee and the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons are currently examining how the subsidiarity early warning mechanism should operate.

Indonesia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Indonesia regarding recent atrocities by the Indonesian military in Puncak Jaya, West Papua; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We are aware of reports of human rights abuses in Puncak Jaya, Papua, Indonesia. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's Special Adviser, Dr. Michael Williams, visited Indonesia as a ministerial envoy in December 2004. He met the President, the Foreign Minister and other senior members of the Indonesian Government. The situation in Papua was discussed during these meetings. The British Embassy in Jakarta has also discussed these allegations with people in the area. According to their reports, there have been some problems but the situation has now calmed down.
	The British Government welcome the high priority that the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has attached to the resolution of conflict in Papua. We also welcome the Indonesian Foreign Minister's statement that their Government have endorsed a human rights plan of action covering the next five years.

Iraq

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the quality of the environment in Iraq (a) before the invasion by Coalition forces in March 2003 and (b) recently.

Bill Rammell: It is not routine practice for the UK to carry out assessments of the quality of the environment in another country and no such assessment was carried out by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Iraq prior to, or post March 2003.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) is providing financial support to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for post-conflict environmental assessment work in Iraq, which includes technical assistance and capacity building for the Iraqi Environment Ministry.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is also providing financial support for a Liaison Officer for the Iraq Donors Group on the Marshlands and Environment Management, involving Iraq, UNEP and international donors.

New Eurasia Foundation

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the New Eurasia Foundation plays in fulfilling the policy objectives of his Department; and what funding the Department contributes to the New Eurasia Foundation.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) only funds those areas of work of the New Eurasia Foundation that assist us in meeting our departmental objectives. An example of this is their work in respect of the strengthening of civil society in Russia. In this connection the FCO is presently funding, with the sum of £130,000 over two financial years, one of their projects designed to strengthen the independence of selected newspapers in Russia's regions. This is the continuation of a project originally run by the Eurasia Foundation, one of the founding organisations of the New Eurasia Foundation.
	In addition, the FCO continues to contribute to the Eurasia Foundation by supporting projects in Georgia and Central Asia with the sum of nearly £260,000. Unlike the New Eurasia Foundation that only operates in Russia, the Eurasia Foundation also works in other countries of the former Soviet Union.

Passports (Tsunami Survivors)

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many temporary passports were issued to British survivors of the recent tsunami.

Chris Mullin: Up to 11 January 2005 our Consular Staff in Thailand issued 66 gratis Emergency Passports and 305 gratis restricted validity passports. They also issued approximately 200 facilitation letters in agreement with the Thai immigration authorities, to allow British nationals affected by the Tsunami to leave Thailand.
	The British High Commission in Colombo has issued 17 full passports and two emergency passports to British Citizens in Sri Lanka who have been affected by the disaster. However, in order to facilitate the speedy return to the UK of stranded British Citizens, the British High Commission has worked in close co-operation with the UK and Sri Lankan Immigration Services, to arrange for confirmed British Citizens who had lost their passports as a result of the Tsunami to return to the UK without a passport.

Ramush Haradinaj

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with investigations into whether war crimes were committed by Mr. Ramush Haradinaj, prime minister of Kosovo.

Denis MacShane: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an independent institution established by the UN Security Council Resolution 827 (25 May, 1993). The Government are therefore not in a position to discuss on-going investigations nor possible future indictments in Kosovo or elsewhere.

Senior Staff (Women)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many women there are in senior positions in his Department.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. These include data on the number of women in senior positions in Departments.
	The latest information, at April 2004, is available in the Library of the House and also on the civil service website at the following addresses.
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/publications/xls/gender_apr04_4nov04.xls.
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/publications/xls/disability_apr04_4nov04.xls
	There are currently 69 women in senior positions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	The number of women in senior positions has continued to rise steadily over the last five years. We are working to ensure that this trend continues. We have in place a range of measures to promote greater gender diversity at senior levels, including positive action training for women, flexible working, monitoring of our promotion procedures, a board gender champion and gender advisory group, and the requirement for all staff to have diversity training and objectives.

Sri Lanka

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Sri Lanka regarding (a) attacks against Sri Lankan Christians, with particular reference to recent attacks against (i) the Assemblies of God church in Yakkala and (ii) the Bethel Children's Home in Batticaloa and (b) the Sri Lankan Government's attempts to pass anti-conversion laws.

Denis MacShane: We have not made specific representations to the Government of Sri Lanka regarding these particular attacks. On the issue of proposed legislation against 'forced conversion', our position remains, as my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary told his Sri Lankan counterpart in July last year, that we do not believe legislation is appropriate in this area. Instead we see inter-religious and inter-community dialogue as the best way to promote tolerance and co-operation in Sri Lanka. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, to maintain our contacts with all religious denominations and to raise our concerns with government ministers both bilaterally and with our EU partners.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants from his Department have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997.

Denis MacShane: The information is as follows.
	(a) One, in 2000.
	(b) No staff have faced criminal charges relating to the theft of Foreign and Commonwealth Office property.
	(c) No civil servants were dismissed for theft.

Thailand

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will amend the advice offered by his Department to young travellers to Thailand to highlight the threat posed by lawlessness.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 11 January 2005
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice is constantly monitored to ensure that it provides up-to-date information on the situation in countries overseas, enabling British nationals to make an informed decision on whether or not to travel to those countries.
	This information is gained from a variety of sources that includes, but is not limited to, our overseas posts, intelligence sources, and the travel industry. Following careful assessment of information received, we make appropriate amendments to our Travel Advice as and when necessary.

UK Embassies

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether it is his Department's policy to downsize the commercial departments of UK embassies in European countries; what plans he has to close individual commercial departments; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of downsizing the commercial departments of UK embassies on the export potential of British business and industry;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry about the future of commercial departments in UK embassies in Europe; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) supports businesses in the UK seeking to compete internationally. UKTI brings together the overseas resources of the FCO together with the Department for Trade and Industry. UKTI has strong partnerships with Regional Development Agencies in England, and with the Devolved Administrations.
	Commercial teams in British Embassies and Consulates are an integral part of UKTI's support for businesses. UKTI's settlement in the recent Spending Review requires it to move resources to support inward investment to the UK. UKTI is, at the same time, focussing resources overseas on markets where customer demand is highest and where Foreign and Commonwealth Office commercial teams make the greatest difference to UK businesses.
	On changes to UK embassies, I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 15 December 2004, Official Report, columns 137–40WS.
	The UKTI corporate strategy underpins the development of its support for British business. The strategy can be found on UKTI's website at www.uktradeinvest gov.uk and has been placed in the Library of the House.

TREASURY

Child Trust Funds (Milton Keynes)

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children are eligible for the Child Trust Fund in (a) Milton Keynes South West and (b) North East Milton Keynes.

Stephen Timms: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 30 November 2004, Official Report, columns 87–88W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Martin Linton). There were 5,500 new births across Buckinghamshire in 2003.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent by his Department on (a) new furniture and (b) hired furniture in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The totals spent on furniture by the core Treasury in 2002–03 and 2003–04 were £413,000 and £170,000 respectively. Furniture for long-term use within the Treasury offices is generally bought, rather than hired or leased. Information in respect of the earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of his Department's staff is based in London.

Stephen Timms: All Treasury staff are based in London.

European Union

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 15 December 2004, Official Report, column 1084W, on the European Union, if he will supply page and column numbers for references to the costs of activities promoting the benefits of the Government's policy towards the European Union, distinguishing EU policy communication themes from other such themes; and what the total amount spent on such activities was in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: HM Treasury does not undertake promotion of the Government's policy towards the European Union as a discrete function, but only as part of its work in developing policy on individual issues.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will rank EU member states showing which in his Department's assessment are closest to achieving a highly competitive social market economy as required by Article 1–3(3) and 1–3(4) of the proposed EU Constitution.

Stephen Timms: Article 1–3 of the draft constitution sets out the Union's objective of achieving sustainable development based on a highly competitive social market economy. Member states are currently working towards this goal through the Lisbon process.
	Measuring the extent to which member states have established highly competitive social market economies requires an assessment of performance against a range of structural economic indicators. The relative performance of member states against core structural indicators was set out in the report from the Commission to the spring European Council, "Delivering Lisbon Reforms For The Enlarged Union", and in the EPC's annual report on structural reforms 2004, "Reinforcing Implementation". 2005 updates of these reports will be published in the coming weeks. The November 2004 report of the High-level Group chaired by Wim Kok, "Facing the Challenge", also included an assessment of member states' relative performance against a series of key structural indicators, showing both achievements in absolute terms and the relative improvements in performance over time.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what structures and mechanisms he (a) has put in place and (b) proposes to ensure the co-ordination of UK economic and employment policies with those of other EU member states as proposed in Article 1–15 (1) and (2) of the proposed EU Constitution.

Stephen Timms: Articles 1–12 and 15 of the EU Constitution maintain member states' ability to coordinate their economic and employment policies within the existing framework of the broad economic policy guidelines and employment guidelines, as set out in the relevant sections of Part III of the Constitution.

European Union

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of whether Article 1–8 of the proposed EU constitution gives rise to a legal obligation for all EU citizens and commercial entities to treat the euro as legal tender.

Stephen Timms: The separate status of the United Kingdom is dealt with in Protocol 13 of the Constitution. This carries forward the existing terms of the UK's opt-out from the euro and economic and monetary union, set out in the Protocol annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community by the Maastricht Treaty on European Union.

Foreign Students

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the yearly contribution to the economy in (a) Greater Portsmouth and (b) the UK of foreign students in the higher, further and private education sectors; what amount of that contribution is represented by (i) spending and (ii) numbers directly employed as a result; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the most recent estimate is of the yearly contribution to the economy in (a) Greater Portsmouth and (b) the UK of foreign students in the higher, further and private education sectors; what amount of that contribution is represented by (i) spending and (ii) numbers directly employed as a result (208337)
	The most recent estimate of the contribution to the economy as measured using gross value added for Portsmouth is £3.3 billion out of a total for the whole economy of £926.3 billion for the year 2002. This represents a contribution to the UK economy of 0.4 per cent. No estimate is made of the contribution to this figure from the education sector.
	The most recent estimate of the contribution to the economy of foreign students in the UK using the expenditure measure of Gross Domestic Product is £2.9 billion out of a total of £1,044.1 billion in the year 2003. This represents a contribution to the UK economy of 0.3 per cent. This covers higher, further and private education sectors and the split by these categories is not available.
	The numbers directly employed as a result are not available.

Inflation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated (a) retail price index, (b) RPIX and (c) CPI rate of inflation is for financial years (i) 2004–05 and (ii) 2005–06.

Stephen Timms: The forecasts for the Retail Prices Index and CPI inflation are as set out in Annex B, Table B3 of the pre-Budget report published in December 2004. RPIX inflation is forecast to be 2¼ per cent in 2004–05 and 2½ per cent. in 2005–06.

Inflation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) retail price index, (b) RPIX and (c) CPI measures of inflation were in each financial year from 1996–97 to 2003–04 inclusive.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the Retail Prices Index (RPI), Retail Prices Index excluding mortgage interest payments (RPIX) and Consumer Prices Index (CPI) were in each financial year from 1996–97 to 2003–04 inclusive. (207953)
	The data requested is given in the attached table.
	
		RPI, RPIX and CPI financial year inflation rates (percentage)(2)1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			 Financial year RPI RPIX CPI(3) 
		
		
			 1996–97 2.4 3.0 2.3 
			 1997–98 3.3 2.7 1.7 
			 1998–99 3.1 2.7 1.6 
			 1999–2000 1.6 2.2 1.2 
			 2000–01 2.9 2.0 0.9 
			 2001–02 1.5 2.3 1.3 
			 2002–03 2.1 2.3 1.3 
			 2003–04 2.8 2.7 1.3 
		
	
	(2) Financial year percentage changes are derived from financial year indices, which were computed using an average of monthly indices (April to March inclusive).
	(3) Official figures for the CPI index level are available from January 1996. CPI index levels prior to January 1996 are estimated, as described in O'Donoghue, J. (1998) 'Harmonised index of consumer prices: historical estimates', Economic Trends No.541, December 1998, www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?ID=31
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

IT Procurement

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procurement policies the Government has in place to prevent rapid obsolescence of its IT equipment and software.

Paul Boateng: The Office of Government Commerce has in place a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft, which entitles Government Departments to take advantage of an attractive package for Microsoft software including options for upgrading to new versions of its operating system software. The Office of Government Commerce also provides other mechanisms for Government to gain the best value for money from IT goods and services.

Mortgage Income Tax Relief

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to public funds was of providing mortgage income tax relief in each year from 1995–96 until its abolition.

Dawn Primarolo: Please refer to Table 2.9: Income tax credits and repayments (1,2,3,4): analysis by type 1994–95 to 2003–04 on the Inland Revenue website. This gives the amount of MIRAS relief from 1994–95 to 2003–04.
	MIRAS was abolished in April 2000.

Ovarian Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the most recent figures are for survival rates for ovarian cancer in the UK.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Ian Gibson, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the most recent figures for survival rates for ovarian cancer in the UK. (208363)
	Survival figures for the UK as a whole are not currently available. The latest available one- and five-year survival rates for ovarian cancer in England and Wales are for adult patients (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed during 1996–99 and followed up to 31 December 2001. These figures are given in the table below.
	
		
			  One- and five-year age-standardised(4) relative survival rates (Percentage) for adult patients (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed with ovarian cancer during 1996–99(5), England and Wales 
		
		
			 Number of patients(6) 20,177 
			 One-year Survival (Percentage) 65 
			 Five-year Survival (Percentage) 36 
		
	
	(4) As cancer survival varies with age at diagnosis, rates have been age standardised (directly age standardised to the 1986–90 cancer patients population) to control for changes in the age profile of cancer patients over time.
	(5) Complete five-year follow-up is currently only available for those diagnosed in 1996. For patients diagnosed in later years the most up-to-date estimates of shorter-term survival were used in this analysis of survival rates.
	(6) Eligible patients included in the survival analysis. The criteria for excluding patient records are given in Health Statistics Quarterly 2000; 6: 71–80, for example where the registration was of a second (different) primary cancer: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/HSQ6Book.pdf
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.
	Available on the National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7899
	The latest survival rates for ovarian cancer in Scotland are available on the Scottish Cancer Registry, Information and Statistics Division Scotland website:
	http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=1430&p_ applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&
	Figures for Northern Ireland are available on the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry website: http://www.qub.ac.uk/nicr/statspages/newtables/SurvivalStats/Ovary-Surv.html

Pensioner Household Statistics

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) single occupied pensioner households and (b) households occupied by two pensioners there are in each constituency.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many (a) single occupied pensioners households and (b) households occupied by two pensioner there are in each constituency. (207960)
	The number of one person pensioner households in each Parliamentary Constituency in England and Wales on Census day (29 April 2001) is available in table KS20 on the CD supplement to the "Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies", which is available in the House of Commons Library.
	Specially commissioned table C0407 has been run to identify the number of households occupied by two pensioners in each Parliamentary Constituency in England and Wales on Census day (29 April 2001). This has been placed in the House of Commons Library and can also be accessed on the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/op15.asp.

Pensioner Household Statistics

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in England with two or more adults contain at least one pensioner but are not solely comprised of pensioners.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many households in England with two or more adults, contain at least one pensioner, but are not solely comprised of pensioners. (207961)
	The table below shows the number of households in England on Census day (29 April 2001), which contained one or more pensioners living with one or more non-pensioners. The figures have been extracted from Table T06 on the CD supplement to the "Census 2001 National Report for England and Wales", which is available in the House of Commons Library.
	
		All households with at least one person of pensionable age
		
			  Area One or more pensioners(7)with one or more non-pensioners 
		
		
			 England 1,606,782 
		
	
	(7) Pensionable age is 65 and over for males and 60 and over for females
	Source:
	"Table T062001 Census National Report for England and Wales"

Sniffer Dogs

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sniffer dogs have been used by Customs and Excise in each of the last five years; and how many of these animals have died prematurely while in service.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Customs and Excise places a high value on the welfare of its detector dogs. Over the last five years, five dogs in total have died. The information requested for each of the years, ending on 31 March is as follows.
	
		
			  Year (ending 31 March) Total dogs in service Number of dogs dying 
		
		
			 2000 Not available 1 
			 2001 Not available 0 
			 2002 54 1 
			 2003 51 0 
			 2004 54 1 
			 2005 (April to December 2004) 59 2

Tax Credits

Anne Begg: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what IT errors have led to tax credits overpayments, broken down by type of overpayment; whether the overpayments were discovered in-year; and whether in-year recovery of overpayments has been made.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 30 November 2004, Official Report, column 102W, to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter)

Tax Credits

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of overpayment for child and working tax credit there have been for each of the last five calendar years in (a) North Southwark and Bermondsey, (b) Camberwell and Peckham and (c) Dulwich and West Norwood; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: For working tax credit and child tax credit, I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 15 November 2004, Official Report, columns 946–48W to the hon. Members for Northavon (Mr. Webb) and for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).
	For working families' and disabled person's tax credits, I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 12 November 2003, Official Report, column 394W, to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien).

Tax Credits

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of the withdrawal of the Fareshare funding category of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Fareshare has not been withdrawn from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, but is no longer eligible for LTCS funding following the reform of the scheme from 2003.
	From 1 April 2003, landfill site operators can no longer claim a tax credit for contributions to projects under categories C and CC, which dealt with sustainable waste management. Sustainable waste management projects are now funded through a public expenditure programme (Waste Implementation Programme) administered by Defra to ensure that legally binding targets to significantly reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill are met.
	There has been no recent research commissioned on the impact of removing the C and CC categories from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. Progress by the Waste implementation programme is demonstrated in improvements on all waste indicators.

Tax Returns

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest figures are for the take up of online submission of personal tax returns; and what steps he has taken to evaluate consumer satisfaction with the process.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue received 1,011,183 returns electronically in the period 6 April 2004 to 7 January 2005. 787,978 were received via the internet service and 223,205 via the Electronic Lodgement Service.
	Users of the Revenue's own online filing software are asked to provide feedback via an online survey. Current satisfaction rating is running at 91 per cent. with over 96 per cent. of users saying they will use the service again next year.
	In addition we have a rolling programme of research with taxpayers on their usage of our online services which will be extended to agents next year. We also continually monitor feedback based on calls received at our online services helpdesk.

Teenage Pregnancy

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the teenage pregnancy rate in North Southwark and Bermondsey was in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking, what the teenage pregnancy rate in North Southwark and Bermondsey was in each year since 1997. (207899)
	The number of teenage conceptions that occurred in 2000 in North Southwark and Bermondsey Parliamentary Constituency was 122. Figures are not available by Parliamentary Constituencies for other years. Figures are available for each year to 2002 for local authority and health authority areas. These can be found on the Office for National Statistics at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/HSQ24.pdf
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nscl.asp?ID=7453
	Rates cannot be supplied for 2000, as population estimates by Parliamentary Constituencies are not available for that year.

Aggregates Levy

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when HM Customs and Excise is expected to complete its assessment of the impact of the introduction of the aggregates levy.

John Healey: The process of evaluating taxes is a continuing one with regular updates provided as part of the Budget process. As announced at the pre-Budget report, we plan to publish a stock-take of the impact of the introduction of all environmental taxes at Budget 2005. The aggregates levy will make up part of this assessment.

Corporation Tax

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much corporation tax has been raised from (a) national governing bodies for sport and (b) international sporting headquarters based in the UK in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available at the level of detail requested.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many dwellings in England are in council tax bands (a) A, (b) B, (c) G and (d) H.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 25 October, the last time national statistics were compiled by the Valuation Office Agency, the number of dwellings in England for the following council tax bands was:
	
		
			 Council tax band Number 
		
		
			 A 5,569,151 
			 B 4,203,705 
			 G 780,128 
			 H 121,525

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many properties are listed by the Valuation Office Agency as having a band review pending.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 31 December 2004 the Valuation Office Agency has 49,361 properties pending a council tax band review.

Debt/Incomes

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average (a) unsecured debt per person and (b) annual income per person was in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 17 January 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on unsecured debt per person and annual income per person. (208525)
	The information requested is shown in the attached table. The data for unsecured debt (households' total financial liabilities other than secured debt) and income (households' gross disposable income) used in the calculations are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined; separate estimates are not available.
	For the denominator in the calculations the series used is Population aged 16+.
	
		£
		
			  Annual income per person Unsecured debt per person 
		
		
			 1997 12,420 3,540 
			 1998 12,730 3,790 
			 1999 13,310 4,090 
			 2000 14,200 4,460 
			 2001 15,120 4,910 
			 2002 15,470 5,620 
			 2003 16,050 6,100

GDP (Underground Activity)

Keith Vaz: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the recorded gross domestic product in the UK is estimated to be generated by underground activity.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Keith Vaz, dated 17 January 2005
	As National Statisician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of the recorded Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the UK is estimated to be generated by underground activity.(209142)
	The Office for National Statistics does not make an estimate of the proportion of GDP generated by underground activity.

Government Van Requirements

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates the Office of Government Commerce has made of government requirements for new light vans in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2006–07; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The Office of Government Commerce is not responsible for making estimates of government requirements on new light vans.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Paris Club at its recent deliberations on Iraqi debt considered to be the amount of interest accumulated to that debt by individual countries; what the total estimated interest is on Iraq's debt; what the level of debt would be if interest is excluded; what the average period of time is that the interest has been accumulating; how much debt and interest Iraq owes to (a) the UK, (b) Saudi Arabia and (c) Kuwait; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: No debts have formally been reconciled between the Government of Iraq and its creditors. On the basis of creditor estimates, the Paris Club agreement of November 2004 applies to $38.9 billion, of which approximately half is interest. Iraq's total debt is estimated to be $124 billion. For the UK, the total amount owed to ECGD (which is the only debt owed by Iraq to HM Government) is estimated to be £595.8 million in Principal and £541.8 million in Moratorium Interest The average length of time that this interest has accumulated over is 14 years. HM Government have no information on the debts owed to Saudi Arabia or Kuwait.

Ministerial Cars

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which manufacturers have been selected to supply cars for the ministerial car pool over the last 12 months; and what are the volumes of vehicles which have been contracted for.

Paul Boateng: The Office of Government Commerce is not responsible for the selection of manufacturers for the ministerial car pool and does not hold information on the volumes of vehicles, which have been contracted for.

Parking Spaces

John Mann: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many car parking spaces are provided for those (a) working in and (b) visiting his Department.

Stephen Timms: The Treasury building at 1 Horse Guards road has 25 car parking spaces.

Parliamentary Questions

David Marshall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost of answering (a) an oral and (b) a written parliamentary question.

Stephen Timms: As at April 2004, the average costs of answering an oral parliamentary question and a written parliamentary question were £345 and £148 respectively.

Parliamentary Questions

David Marshall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total cost in each of the last 10 years of answering parliamentary questions.

Stephen Timms: The information requested in respect of House of Commons questions for each of the last 10 parliamentary sessions is given in the following table:
	
		£
		
			  Oral question Written question 
			  Number Average cost Total Number Average cost Total Sessional total 
		
		
			 1994–95 4,903 230 1,127,690 44,924 99 4,447,476 5,575,166 
			 1995–96 4,464 244 1,089,216 35,843 105 3,763,515 4,852,731 
			 1996–97 2,622 249 652,878 18,439 107 1,972,973 2,625,851 
			 1997–98 8,113 260 2,109,380 52,652 112 5,897,024 8,006,404 
			 1998–99 5,008 267 1,337,136 32,149 115 3,697,135 5,034,271 
			 1999–2000 5,747 282 1,620,654 36,781 121 4,450,501 6,071,155 
			 2000–01 2,780 285 792,300 16,716 123 2,056,068 2,848,368 
			 2001–02 6,528 299 1,951,872 72,905 129 9,404,745 11,356,617 
			 2002–03 4,118 313 1,288,934 55,436 135 7,483,860 8,772,794 
			 2003–04 3,687 322 1,187,214 54,875 138 7,572,750 8,759,964 
			 — — — — — — — 63,903,321

Secondments

Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the people working within his Department on secondment from the private sector, broken down by (a) the organisation or industry they came from and (b) the policy responsibilities they have been given.

Stephen Timms: The following table gives details of the people on secondment to the Treasury from the private sector and their responsibilities.
	
		
			 Name Organisation Policy responsibility 
		
		
			 Richard Abadie PWC Senior advisor on corporate and private finance projects 
			 Charlotte Armstrong Deloitte Business tax specialist 
			 Elizabeth Corrin PKF Accountancy support to financial reviews announced by the Chancellor 
			 Caroline Cowan Deloitte VAT policy advisor 
			 Daniel Daniels Partnerships UK Consultancy advice on PFI projects 
			 Duncan Farrow Smith Deloitte Corporate finance adviser 
			 Richard Weaver PWC Accountancy specialist for prospectus directive implementation 
		
	
	Details of all secondees are a matter of public record and full details are available on the Treasury's public website and can be found at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/about_secondee.cfm

Software Procurement

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government Departments and agencies currently use open source software procurement; and what the total value was of open source software procured by Government in 2004.

Paul Boateng: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Stamp Duty

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications of restructuring stamp duty on residential property sales to charge marginal rates of (a) 0 per cent. on property sales of £60,000 or less, 1 per cent. on sales between £60,000 and £249,999, 3 per cent. on sales between £250,000 and £499,999 and 4 per cent. on sales of £500,000 and above, (b) 0 per cent. on property sales of £60,000 or less, 2 per cent. on sales between £60,000 and £249,999, 3 per cent. on sales between £250,000 and £499,999 and 4 per cent. on sales of £500,000 and above, (c) 0 per cent. on property sales up to £100,000, 1 per cent. on sales between £100,000 and £249,999, 3 per cent. on sales between £250,000 and £499,999 and 4 per cent. on sales of £500,000 and above, (d) 0 per cent. on property sales up to £120,000, 1 per cent. on sales between £120,000 and £249,999, 3 per cent. on sales between £250,000 and £499,999 and 4 per cent. on sales of £500,000 or above, (e) 0 per cent. on property sales up to £120,000, 2 per cent. on sales between £120,000 and £249,999, 3 per cent. on sales between £250,000 and £499,999 and 4 per cent. on sales of £500,000 or above and (f) 0 per cent. on property sales up to £120,000, 2 per cent. on sales between £120,000 and £249,999, 3 per cent. on sales between £249,999 and £499,999 and 5 per cent. on sales of £500,000 or above.

Stephen Timms: The estimated revenue cost, in 2005–06, of restructuring stamp duty on residential property sales according to the six schemes described in the question is given in the tables:
	
		
			 Price of residential Marginal rates 
			 property (£) Tax regime 1 Tax regime 2 
		
		
			 0–59,999 0% 0% 
			 60,000–249,999 1% 2% 
			 250,000–499,999 3% 3% 
			 500,000 and above 4% 4% 
			 Revenue cost (£m) 2,330 1,080 
		
	
	
		
			 Price of residential Marginal rates 
			 property (£) Tax regime 3 
		
		
			 0–99,999 0% 
			 100,000–249,999 1% 
			 250,000–499,999 3% 
			 500,000 and above 4% 
			 Revenue cost (£m) 2,760 
		
	
	
		
			 Price of residential Marginal rates 
			 property (£) Tax regime 4 Tax regime 5 Tax regime 6 
		
		
			 0–119,999 0% 0% 0% 
			 120,000–249,999 1% 2% 2% 
			 250,000–499,999 3% 3% 3% 
			 500,000 and above 4% 4% 5% 
			 Revenue cost (£m) 2,940 2,290 2,130 
		
	
	This does not include any allowance for behavioural changes and changes to reliefs.

Tax Credits

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people in the Leyton and Wanstead constituency who have benefited from tax credits; and if he will break that estimate down by (a) category of tax credit and (b) average amount received in each category.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of in-work families receiving tax credits in each constituency (broken down by families with and without children) appear in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. January 2004." This can be found on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm. The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are subject to sampling uncertainty.
	Information on the average value of tax credit awards is not currently available.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Veterans Reunited

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the promotion of lottery funding for Veterans Reunited activity.

Estelle Morris: Under the Big Lottery Fund's Veterans Reunited initiative, £27.3 million of Lottery money is being made available to ensure that all generations of UK residents can commemorate the momentous events that led to the end of the Second World War. Over £17.2 million has already been awarded and grants will continue to be made until the end of 2005. The initiative has been actively promoted, receiving wide press and media coverage.

Regional Programming

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government are taking to ensure that regional programmes are well represented in independent television schedules.

Tessa Jowell: The Government remain committed to retaining a strong regional dimension to public service broadcasting and this is reflected in the provisions of the Communications Act 2003.
	It is for the regulator, Ofcom, to determine how the statutory obligations are best met.

Public Service Broadcasting

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her policy towards public service broadcasting.

Tessa Jowell: This Government remains committed to Public Service Broadcasting, delivered by a plurality of broadcasters.
	Ofcom is currently reviewing Public Service Television Broadcasting with the aim of maintaining and strengthening its quality, as required under the Communications Act. This review will make an important contribution to the debate about the future of Public Service Broadcasting and I look forward to the publication of Ofcom's final conclusions.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on Government support for tourism.

Richard Caborn: I am pleased to announce that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has decided to increase VisitBritain's grant in aid funding by a total of £2 million over the period from 2005–06 to 2007–08. This is a good settlement for VisitBritain and demonstrates the Government's commitment to the wider tourism sector, which received an estimated total of £285 million in public funding across the United Kingdom in 2003–04.

Heritage Funding

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sportwhat recent meetings her Department has had with English Heritage to discuss funding for heritage.

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met English Heritage's Chairman on 6 December 2004 to discuss funding for heritage. The Minister for Media and Heritage and DCMS officials also have regular meetings with English Heritage to discuss funding issues.

National Lottery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her policy to maintain the principle of additionality in the allocation of national lottery money to good causes.

Estelle Morris: This Government remain committed to the principle of additionality—that lottery money should add to, and not substitute for, services already provided by the Government.

BBC

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she will take to meet considerations of taste and decency in the context of BBC charter renewal.

Estelle Morris: As I said in my earlier reply to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous), all aspects of the BBC's organisation, operation, funding and Governance are being considered as part of the on-going BBC Charter Review, and the mechanisms for securing appropriate programme standards come within the scope of that Review.

BBC

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with regulatory bodies regarding the screening on terrestrial television of allegedly blasphemous material.

Estelle Morris: None. Responsibility for what is broadcast on television and radio rests with the broadcasters and the organisations which regulate broadcasting—the Office of Communications (OFCOM), the Governors of the BBC and the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority (S4C). They are independent of the Government and responsible for safeguarding the public interest in broadcasting in accordance with the duties laid upon them. They set the detailed rules and guidance with which broadcasters must comply. It is a long-standing principle that the Government does not interfere in editorial matters, either in relation to scheduling or content.

Church Building Grants

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultations she has had with church authorities about the effect on Heritage Lottery grants to church buildings of relevant provisions in the National Lottery Bill; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: We have had no consultation with church authorities about the National Lottery Bill, but have received written representations from a number of Diocesan Advisory Committees, and others, concerning how clauses 7 and 8 of the Bill may affect Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grants to church buildings. We have been in close contact with HLF to address their concerns and have made assurances both to them and the correspondents that there is no question whatsoever of reallocating balances in the National Lottery Distribution Fund in a way that would endanger the commitments made to existing heritage projects. We have also made clear that, if Parliament approves these powers, we would ensure that any money reallocated would still go to heritage projects but would be allocated to a different distributor. We will set out the Government's position more fully when the Bill is considered by the House.

Digital Broadcasting

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the coverage is in England for digital television provided by the BBC.

Tessa Jowell: The vast majority of households in England can, with the appropriate equipment, receive the BBC digital services via either digital satellite, digital terrestrial or cable. However at least 20 per cent. of households cannot currently receive the BBC services via digital terrestrial television; this figure cannot be increased before switchover.

Film Distribution

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to encourage greater competition in the UK film distribution industry; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The Government aim, through the UK Film Council (UKFC), to promote the availability of the widest possible variety of films to the widest possible audience. The UKFC's initiatives in this area do not directly address the issue of competition in the market place, but do account for it within the broader objective of improving variety and accessibility. The £2 million available annually through the Prints and Advertising Fund is designed, for example, to encourage film distributors to acquire more specialised films and to release them more widely. The UK Film Council is separately in constant dialogue with both individual distributors and relevant trade organisations to ensure that any structural or competition issues are dealt with appropriately.

Film Industry

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support the Government is offering the UK film industry.

Estelle Morris: The Government is committed to creating a sustainable, stable and successful film industry. The UK Film Council, our strategic body for film, allocates Lottery money for film-making, and works with Government support to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the UK. The Government itself continues to make available generous and appropriately-targeted tax relief for filmmakers, and is working to create the best possible framework for increased and improved co-productions between UK filmmakers and their counterparts abroad.

Football Club Debts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the consequences for public policy making of the debts of UK professional football clubs; and what estimate she has made of the total debt level of professional football clubs.

Richard Caborn: Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance, published in August 2004, estimates that the net debt of Premiership clubs was £704 million and the total borrowing of Division One clubs was £281 million at the end of season 2002–03.
	The Government continue to encourage and support the football authorities in ensuring excellence in the governance and financial management of football clubs. While there is a long way to go, there has been some encouraging progress, such as the work of the FA Financial Advisory Unit who provide advice and assistance to clubs to avoid running into serious financial difficulties.
	However, each year the Premier League and its clubs redistribute almost £70 million to good causes and reach £3.7 million participants on community projects.

Live Music

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the state of live music in England and Wales.

Richard Caborn: Last year's MORI research indicated there were an estimated 1.7 million live music events in England and Wales in the previous 12 months. The Government recognises the cultural and economic importance of a vibrant live music scene is committed to ensuring that live music of all genres flourishes. I am confident that the reforms included in the Licensing Act 2003, supplemented by the work of the Live Music Forum, will help live music continue to thrive.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Anderson Inquiry

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the Northumberland Trading Standards video of Burnside Farm at the time of the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak was not submitted to the Anderson Inquiry.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 6 December 2004
	Defra has no record of being sent a copy of the video by Northumberland county council before February 2003. The report of the FMD 2001: Lessons to be Learned Inquiry, chaired by Dr. Iain Anderson, was published on 22 July 2002. The council did not release any copies of the video before the trial of Mr. Waugh in May 2002, after Dr. Anderson had stopped receiving evidence for his Lessons to be Learned Inquiry. Reports based on the eye witness evidence of Defra, Institute for Animal Health and local authority officials, who were present on Burnside Farm when the video was recorded, were submitted to the Anderson Inquiry.

Common Agricultural Policy

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Alun Michael: The Government played a leading role in securing major reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003 and 2004. They break the link between the bulk of farm subsidy and levels of production, make subsidy dependent on meeting environmental and animal welfare standards, and redirect a greater proportion of EU subsidy to environmental and rural development schemes. As a result, the CAP will now be less environmentally damaging and trade distorting and enable farmers to become more market focused.
	The Government welcomes EU plans for further reform of the sugar sector and the Rural Development Regulation and will be looking to maximise other opportunities to reform the CAP further.

Conferences

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many conferences were (a) attended by officials from her Department, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by her Department in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to the Department and (ii) location was in each case.

Alun Michael: Conferences organised by the Communications Directorate of Defra in the last three years for which figures are available are as follows. The answer covers the time from the formation of the Department on the 8 June 2001 to 20 December 2004. Records of all conferences carried out by the Department are not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		£
		
			 Event name Cost 
		
		
			 2001  
			 Farm Business Recovery—July 2001, Scotch Corner 13,920 
			 Farm Business Recovery—July 2001, Oakhampton 13,860 
			 Farm Business Recovery—July 2001, Carlisle 14,095 
			 Farm Business Recovery—July 2001, Darlington 14,045 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Carlisle 13,870 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Hexham 14,045 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Gloucester 13,860 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Bishop Auckland 14,045 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Penrith 13,870 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Stafford 13,860 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Bromsgrove 13,860 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Barnstable 13,860 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Broughtone 13,870 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Hereford 14,170 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Skipton 14,045 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Carlisle 13,870 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Penrith 13,870 
			 Farm Business Recovery—August 2001, Gisbum 13,870 
			 Farm Business Recovery—October 2001, Middlesbrough 14,045 
			 Waste Management Seminar—November 2001 13,131 
			   
			 2002  
			 Chemicals Stakeholder Forum—2002 4,690 
			 Rural Revival Seminar—June 2002 1,105 
			 SEAC Open Meeting—2002 37,255 
			 Defra Hunting Hearings (three days)—2002 18,143 
			 Eight Regional Events on Sustainable Food and Farming—2002 24,240 
			 Noise Forum Conference—2002 313 
			 Countryside Stewardship Campaign, 10th Anniversary Conference—2002 2,158 
			   
			 2003  
			 GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) Foundation workshop—2003 78,500 
			 GMO Organised meetings (radio)—2003 5,000 
			 GMO Organised meetings (material)—2003 8,250 
			 GMO Organised meetings (facilitation)—2003 9,600 
			 GMO Organised meetings (launch)—2003 42,344 
			 GMO Reconvened focus groups—2003 55,000 
			 GMO Second tier meetings—2003 23,176 
			 Additional GMO launch meetings—2003 29,176 
			 Flood and Coastal Management Conference—2003 1,360 
			 E-nabling Defra Conference—2003 3,900 
			 England Bio-Diversity Conference—2003 900 
			 Information Management Division Open day—2003 1,405 
			 Better Buildings Summit—2003 26,325 
			 Animal Health and Welfare Stakeholder Event—2003 622 
			 Ethnic Minority Network Conference—2003 7,000 
			 Flood Management Conference—2003 2,022 
			 Rural Services Standard—2003 614 
			 Darwin Lecture—London 2003 1,050 
			 Growing Media Forum Seminar—2003 8,621 
			 Science and Innovation Open Meeting—2003 8,971 
			   
			 2004  
			 Eight Regional TB events—2004 52,000 
			 Sustainable Development Consultation Launch— London 2004 88,154 
			 Anti-Microbial Resistance Abattoir Survey Meeting— Weybridge 2004 Awaiting final reconciliation 
			 Regional Climate Change Conference—Buxton 2004 Awaiting final reconciliation 
			 Climate Change Review Launch—London 2004 Awaiting final reconciliation 
			 Chemical Consultation Review Launch—London 2004 3,220 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. No conferences were cancelled.
	2. The costs do not include the cost of departmental staff, details of which are not recorded against each conference.

Dairy Industry

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK's milk quota was used in the last period for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: The UK's milk quota for the current quota year, which runs from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005, is 14,186 million litres. The provisional figure for the volume of milk delivered to purchasers up to the end of December 2004 is 10,370 million litres, which when adjusted for butterfat content is 10,407.5 million litres. This is 2.19 per cent. below the butterfat adjusted quota profile for the year.
	The figure for the amount of milk produced for direct sale will not be available until the 2005–06 quota year.

Departmental Events

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by her Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in each of the last two years giving the (i) title, (ii) purpose, (iii) date and (iv) cost of each.

Alun Michael: Centrally held records of Defra funded third-party involvement indicate one conference held off departmental premises—the Ruralnet conference in Maidstone, Kent on 13 and 14 of October 2004.
	Records for each directorate in Defra are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of refurbishments in her Department was in each year since 1997; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Alun Michael: Cost of refurbishment work undertaken in Defra and Executive Agencies for each year since formation is:
	
		
			  Cost 
		
		
			 2001–02  
			 London, Ergon House (£ million) 3.75 
			 London, Cromwell House (£ million) 1.3 
			 Taunton, Quantock House (£000) 40 
			 2002–03  
			 London, 9 Millbank (£ million) 2.5 
			 2003–04  
			 London, 3–8 Whitehall (£ million) 1.3 
			 London, Nobel House (£ million) 6.0 
			 2004–05  
			 London, Nobel House (£ million) 13.0 
			 London, 55 Whitehall (£ million) 3.3 
			 Cambridge, Whitehouse Lane (£000) 100 
			 Sutton Bonington, VLA (£000) 200 
			 York, Kings Pool (£000) 50 
			 Thirsk, VLA (£000) 50 
			 Truro, Polwhele AHU (£000) 130 
			 Carmarthen, VLA (£000) 410 
		
	
	Budgets for 2005–06 await approval. No refurbishment programme can be established at present.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by her Department on lighting in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: No separate records for the cost of lighting provision on the Defra estate are kept.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs of the Department were in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) electricity, (b) water, (c) gas, (d) telephones, (e) mobile telephones and (f) televisions.

Alun Michael: The information shown in the table covers running costs for Defra from the time of its creation in 2001. It covers the central department (excluding Executive Agencies) and for utilities, only those buildings for which Defra has a contractual responsibility.
	
		£000
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 (a) Electricity 1,190.2 920.8 979.0 
			 (b) Water 138.9 103.8 105.6 
			 (c) Gas 513.9 381.9 427.7 
			 (d) telephones 3,483.6 1,817.0 1,260.0 
			 (e) mobile telephones 2,527.5 755.2 473.1 
			 (f) televisions 1.6 1.9 0.9

E-mails

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's policy regarding the retention of e-mails in electronic form (a) after and (b) up to 1 January 2005; and what instructions have been given regarding the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005.

Alun Michael: E-mail messages that form part of the official record are saved for as long as business needs require and stored corporately in accordance with departmental record management procedures. Defra's guidance on e-mail management emphasises the importance of capturing all significant e-mail messages—this policy has not changed. Further e-mail guidance is available on the National Archives website at:http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/electronicrecords/advice/pdf/managing_emails.pdf

Environment Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Environment Council on 20 December; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I attended the Environment Council on 20 December 2004, together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	Council reached political agreement on two measures concerning the Aarhus Convention, both with the support of the UK. We agreed a draft Regulation on the application of provisions on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters to the Community institutions and bodies, with Belgium voting against. I intervened in the discussion to oppose a Commission suggestion that would have set a requirement that NGOs should be active at EU level to be entitled to use the access to justice provisions. Others took the same view and this proposal was not adopted.
	There was unanimous agreement on a draft Decision to the effect that the European Community should ratify the Aarhus Convention. It is hoped that this will enable ratification by the EC to be concluded before the next meeting of the parties in May 2005. The Commission said it would enter a minutes statement concerning a declaration on external competence annexed to the decision.
	We also reached political agreement on the proposed Directive on Batteries and Accumulators, following lengthy discussion of the main outstanding issues which were the extent of the partial ban on nickel cadmium batteries, and, particularly, the level and timing of collection targets. There was a wide range of views in Council, with strong pressure from a number of member states for tougher provisions on nickel cadmium and more ambitious collection targets. I argued for an evidence-based approach on nickel cadmium, and for achievable and proportionate collection targets, noting that the legal base used for this measure would not prevent member states that wished to go further from doing so. A compromise was reached after a difficult negotiation, involving targets of 25 per cent. after four years and 45 per cent. after eight years from the Directive coming into force. The exemption of cordless power tools from the nickel cadmium ban was maintained, with a Commission review after four years. Belgium abstained because the targets were too unambitious, Greece because they were too high, and Ireland because of the terms of the review of cordless power tools. Italy was also unable to support the political agreement.
	We debated elements of the Regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH). The Secretary of State welcomed a recent workshop held by the Netherlands Presidency on the wide range of impact assessment work being done on this dossier, and pointed out that the UK proposal for 'one substance one registration' would help reduce duplication of information and therefore costs.
	There was general support for prioritising registration of substances of greatest concern, particularly those that may be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. Some member states would like to go further and there was limited interest in developing a risk-based approach at the registration stage. Mrs. Beckett expressed UK concerns about the practicality of such an approach in the absence of the data that would only become available during the registration process itself. The Commission took a similar line.
	There was broad agreement in Council that the treatment of substances in finished products (articles) was important to safeguard human health and the environment but could raise issues of workability. In addition we should avoid any danger of creating a competitive advantage for goods imported from outside the EU. Mrs. Beckett strongly supported the principle of regulating substances in articles under REACH, but put forward concerns over the workability of the current Commission proposal.
	There was no qualified majority for or against the Commission proposal for a Decision authorising placing an oilseed rape product (Brassica napus L,GT73 line), genetically modified for tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate, on the market. The UK abstained in this vote.
	Council agreed a wide-ranging set of Conclusions on Climate Change: Medium and Long-term Strategies and Targets, following the 10th Conference of the Parties to the UN Climate Change Convention in Buenos Aires, and as a contribution to the planned discussion at the Spring European Council. I spoke supporting the need for quantified targets but, with Germany and the Commission, suggested that these should follow rather than precede Commission work on cost benefits due in February.
	Council also adopted Conclusions on the review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy, but was unable to do so on the Kok Report on the Lisbon Strategy. Some wished to widen the scope of the conclusions. For the UK, Mrs. Beckett strongly supported the succinct draft conclusions put forward by the Presidency. The Presidency concluded that Council should return to the discussion under the Luxembourg Presidency.
	Council held a lengthy preliminary exchange of views on the proposed Regulation on the Financial instrument for the environment (LIFE+). Discussion focused on the need to ensure compatibility with the EU's overall budget. Views were expressed for and against the Commission's intention to focus funding from the new Regulation on policy support rather than implementation, which would be funded from other EU funding streams or by member states. A number of member states were concerned about possible gaps arising from this approach.
	Council also exchanged views on the preparation for the 23rd Session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council, to be held in February 2005, and heard from UNEP's Executive Director, Klaus Topfer. For the UK, the Secretary of State provided an opening intervention in response to a question on achieving complementarity between the Johannesburg outcomes and the Millennium Development Goals, and the role of UNEP in enhancing these synergies. This and subsequent interventions emphasised the need to recognise the links between the Millennium Development Goals and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the effective use of resources, underlining the necessity for all parties to make appropriate financial contributions to UNEP. The need for the Millennium Review summit to address environmental sustainability and climate change, and the importance of the Bali strategic plan for technology support and capacity building as a mechanism for implementation were also stressed.
	Council adopted Conclusions on the Protection and Conservation of the Marine Environment without further discussion, in which we looked forward to the publication by the Commission of the thematic strategy on the marine environment, due in 2005 under the 6th Environmental Action Programme.
	Under Other Business, the Secretary of State raised the urgent need for concrete measures to address increasing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, and our preference for action through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Council was also briefed on the mercury strategy; a number of recent events organised by the Presidency covering legionella in Europe, exploring new approaches for the regulation of industrial installations (ENAP), energy in motion (i.e. sustainable transport), 25 years of the Directive on the conservation of wild birds, the soil thematic strategy and the Environment and Health Action Plan; Commission plans for the forthcoming thematic strategies; the UNECE and UNESCO high-level meeting in March 2005; and the management of biowaste.
	Over lunch we also discussed Presidency ideas for a partnership between business stakeholders and governments to debate the delivery of a 'clean, clever and competitive' Europe.

Honey Production

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the contribution of honey production to the agricultural economy.

Alun Michael: In 2003 the UK produced 7,500 tonnes of honey worth £35 million, a significant increase over previous years. Part of this increase is attributable to the EU ban on imports of honey from China between 2002–04. British honey is produced by about 200 commercial bee farmers and some 43,000 private beekeepers. Their contribution to the agricultural economy is difficult to measure but the value of pollination as a service to agriculture has been estimated as at least £120 million a year.

Honey Production

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on funding for the National Bee Unit;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with colleagues in the Welsh Assembly Government on funding for disease inspection programmes in the bee industry.

Alun Michael: The bee health programmes in England and Wales are implemented by the National Bee Unit under separate contracts funded by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government respectively. In 2004–05, the unit will receive funding of £1.235 million from Defra and £0.283 million from the Welsh Assembly.
	The Department has informed officials of the Welsh Assembly Government about plans for refocusing the English programme over the next three years. The Welsh Assembly Government was represented at a meeting between Defra officials and beekeepers on 26 November.

Honey Production

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the National Bee Unit on future disease threats faced by beekeepers;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the disease threat faced by bee colonies.

Alun Michael: Part of the role of the National Bee Unit is to advise the Department on the development of its programme to control notifiable pests and diseases of bees in England and to minimise the risk of introduction of potentially serious exotic pests. There are regular discussions between the Department and the unit on these matters.
	In the light of the National Bee Unit's assessment of the disease threats faced by bee colonies, the Department has concluded that statutory enforcement provisions for the control of varroa are now of low priority since this pest has become endemic. Plans are being made to remove varroasis from the list of notifiable diseases. Similar action is contemplated in respect of European foul brood in 2007–08, subject to satisfactory results from continuing applied research. This will allow the National Bee Unit to devote more of its resources to novel pests and diseases, including tropilaelaps and the small hive beetle, for which contingency measures are currently being developed.

Newspapers/Periodicals

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) newspapers and (b) periodicals taken by her Department in each year since 1997; and how much the Department spent on each in each year.

Alun Michael: The Department currently takes eight newspaper titles and 219 periodical titles through its library services. I am placing a copy of the full listing of these in the Library of the House of Commons. Newspaper and periodical requirements are reviewed annually to ensure their continuing relevance to the Department's changing business needs. As a result, some titles are cancelled and new ones subscribed to.
	Defra was established in June 2001. Its expenditure on newspapers and periodicals since then through its library services is set out as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 118,160 
			 2002–03 91,095 
			 2003–04 60,480 
		
	
	These figures exclude the spend on newspapers and periodicals by Defra local offices and the Department's Executive Agencies. These figures could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost.

Pesticides

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what processes are in place to ensure that advice from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides considers economic issues relating to the pesticides industry.

Alun Michael: The remit of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) requires that they are able to advise Ministers on all aspects of pesticide use. To this end, the committee includes within its membership independent experts on a wide range of relevant subjects, including economics.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the property belonging to her Department that has been (a) stolen and (b) reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

Alun Michael: The information supplied within the following tables excludes property lost or stolen by executive agencies, and is only available from 2001–02, as the Department did not exist prior to that year.
	In addition to the data, a number of cage traps have been damaged or lost as a result of action by animal right activists. Details are unavailable, although the calculated value since 2001–02 amounts to circa £60,000.
	The following three tables comprise a summary sheet for the three years since the Department's inception supported by a workings sheet and detailed inventory of individual items.
	
		Summary of items stolen or lost for years 2001 to 2004
		
			  Quantity Amount (£) 
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Items categorised as stolen   
			 Laptop 4 6 2 6,691 10,221 1,151 
			 Mobile phone 6 1 0 441 40 0 
			 PCs 3 4 1 3332 6,208 1,916 
			 Monitors 0 6 0 0 4,004 0 
			 Projectors 0 2 0 0 5,160 0 
			 Pressure washers 0 3 0 0 2,885 0 
			 Digital camera 0 2 0 0 700 0 
			 Total 13 24 3 10,464 29,218 3,067 
			 Items categorised as lost   
			 Laptop 6 3 1 10,301 4,465 1,664 
			 Mobile phone 2 5 0 180 740 0 
			 PCs 0 2 0 0 647 0 
			 Projectors 1 0 0 300 0 0 
			 Scanner 0 1 0 0 200 0 
			 Global positioning unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Fax modem 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dictaphone 21 3 0 3,936 280 0 
			 Pressure washers 1 0 1 1,586 0 2,624 
			 Protective clothing 0 1 0 0 57 0 
			 Burn site equipment 1 0 0 1,422 0 0 
			 Total 32 15 2 17,725 6,389 4,288 
			 Combined total of items stolen or lost   
			 Laptop 10 9 3 16,992 14,686 2,815 
			 Mobile phone 8 6 0 621 780 0 
			 PCs 3 6 1 3,332 6,855 1,916 
			 Pressure washers 1 3 1 1,586 2,885 2,624 
			 Monitors 0 6 0 0 4,004 0 
			 Projectors 1 2 0 300 5,160 0 
			 Scanners 0 1 0 0 200 0 
			 Digital camera 0 2 0 0 700 0 
			 Fax modem 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dictaphone 21 3 0 3,936 280 0 
			 Global positioning unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Protective clothing 0 1 0 0 57 0 
			 Burn site equipment 1 0 0 1,422 0 0 
			 Total 45 39 5 28,189 35,607 7,355 
		
	
	
		Items stolen or lost, analysed by year and category
		
			 Category/Item Quantity Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02   
			 Theft   
			 Laptop 4 6,690.32 
			 Mobile Phones 6 441.35 
			 PC Hardrive 1 800.00 
			 PC Viewer 1 2,173.75 
			 PC 1 358.16 
			 Total  10,463.58 
			 Loss   
			 Laptop 6 10,301.30 
			 Mobile Phones 4 297.50 
			 Projector 1 300.00 
			 Pressure Hose and Fittings 1 1,586.25 
			 Burn Site Equipment 1 1,421.75 
			 Dictaphones 21 3,936.00 
			 Cage traps ? 26,046.00 
			 Total  43,888.80 
			
			 2002–03   
			 Theft   
			 Laptop 6 10,221.00 
			 Mobile Phones 1 40.00 
			 Digital Camera 2 700.00 
			 PCs 2 2,620.00 
			 PC Base Unit 1 587.50 
			 IT equipment 1 3,000.00 
			 Monitors 6 4,004.40 
			 Projectors 2 5,160.00 
			 Pressure washers 3 2,885.00 
			 Total  29,217.90 
			 Loss   
			 Laptop 3 4,464.59 
			 Mobile Phones 5 740.00 
			 PC 2 647.00 
			 Scanner 1 200.00 
			 Dictaphones 3 280.00 
			 Protective clothing 1 57.58 
			 Total  6,389.17 
			
			 2003–04   
			 Theft   
			 Laptop 2 1,151.44 
			 IT equipment 1 1,916.00 
			 Total  3,067.44 
			 Loss   
			 Laptop 1 1,663.72 
			 Diesel Pressure Washer 1 2,623.78 
			 Cage Traps 1,013 34,188.75 
			 Total  38,476.25 
		
	
	
		Inventory of items stolen or lost for years 2001–04
		
			 Year/Category Item Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02   
			 Theft Psion 358.16 
			 Theft Two Mobile phones 96.35 
			 Theft Cage traps  
			  Binoculars  
			  GPS  
			  Pager 26,046 
			 Theft PC Hard Drive 800 
			 Loss Two laptops 2,060.26 
			 Theft Projector and Laptop 1,578 
			 Theft Laptop 1,933.32 
			 Loss (not delivered) Four laptops 8,241.04 
			 Theft Laptop 1,679 
			 Theft PC viewer 2,173.75 
			 Loss Pressure hose and fittings 1,586.25 
			 Loss FMD burn site 1,421.75 
			 Theft Mobile phone 120 
			 Theft Phone 25 
			 Theft Mobile phone 100 
			 Loss Mobile phone 100 
			 Theft Mobile phone 100 
			 Loss Mobile phone 80 
			 Theft Laptop 1,500 
			 Loss Mobile phone 58.75 
			 Loss Mobile phone 58.75 
			 Loss Overhead Projector 300 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 86 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			 Loss Dictaphone 299 
			
			 2002–03   
			 Theft Three pressure washers 2,885 
			 Theft Digital camera 350 
			 Theft Mobile phone 40 
			 Theft Digital camera 350 
			 Theft Laptop 2,000 
			 Loss Three mobile phones 360 
			 Loss PC 447 
			 Theft Laptop 1500 
			 Loss Scanner 200 
			 Loss Two laptops 3,200 
			 Theft PC base unit 587.5 
			 Theft Two monitors 1,334.8 
			 Loss Mobile phone 300 
			 Theft Laptop 342 
			 Theft Laptop 1,815 
			 Theft Laptop 2,764 
			 Loss Laptop 1,264.59 
			 Theft Four monitors 2,669.6 
			 Theft Two projectors 5,160 
			 Theft Laptop 1,800 
			 Loss Mobile phone 80 
			 Theft Two PCs 2,620 
			 Theft Computer equipment 3,000 
			 Loss PC 200 
			 Loss Protective clothing 57.58 
			 Loss (damage) Rabies van 2,500 
			 Loss Three dictaphones 280 
			 2003–04   
			 Theft Laptop 56.96 
			 Loss Laptop 1,663.72 
			 Theft IT equipment 1,916 
			 Loss Diesel pressure washer 2,623.78 
			 Loss 1013 Cage traps 34,188.75 
			 Theft Laptop 1094.48

UN Environment Programme

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the UK's financial contribution to the UN Environment Programme is for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The UK contribution to UNEP for 2004 was £4.2 million.
	No request has yet been received for payment in 2005. The UK expects to match last year's level of £4.2 million, in line with UNEP's voluntary Indicative Scale of Contributions.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of commercial and industrial waste was biodegradable in the last period for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: Estimates from the 1998–99 Environment Agency survey suggest that about 44 per cent. of industrial and commercial waste is paper, card or food. A further 22 per cent. is mixed waste of which an unknown proportion is biodegradable. Publication of more up to date survey data should take place later in the year.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the financial position of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has experienced short term financial difficulties caused by a combination of factors, including exchange rate fluctuations between the US dollar and sterling and changes in the way the Centre's core funding is provided.
	Defra officials are in discussion with UNEP, WCMC Trustees and staff of the Centre to explore ways to secure its short and long-term future.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of her Department's publications have drawn on information produced by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre at Cambridge; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Work carried out by the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to inform and support discussions in key environment fora such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. In particular, the Centre has produced papers, to help focus international discussions on the implementation of the biodiversity target adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. This included documentation for an international meeting in London in May 2003—'2010—The Biodiversity Challenge'.
	The UK's delivery plan on biodiversity 'Beyond Johannesburg: Delivering our International Biodiversity Commitments', published by Defra in May 2004, uses statistics on biodiversity loss produced by UNEP-WCMC.
	Defra reports to the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) and other international species conservation conventions also include much information that has been drawn from UNEP-WCMC's databases.
	The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, to which the UK Government has contributed, draws upon significant amounts of published work by UNEP-WCMC.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when (a) she and (b) her officials last met the staff of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre at Cambridge; and what was discussed.

Elliot Morley: I met Dr. Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on 6 January 2005 and discussed the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) amongst other issues. Dr. Toepfer and I expressed our commitment to securing the short and long term future of the centre.
	Defra officials are also in frequent contact with staff and management of the Centre on a host of biodiversity issues.

DEFENCE

Army Establishment

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department expects to produce the establishment figure for the next three years for the (a) Signals, (b) Engineers, (c) Logistics and (d) Intelligence Corps.

Adam Ingram: The detailed implications for the establishments of all the arms and services of the Army are being worked through now as we move forward with the reorganisation of the Army. We anticipate that establishment figures will be finalised in the next few months.

Army Recruitment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were recruited into the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire regiments in each of the last five years; and how that affected establishment in each case.

Ivor Caplin: Individual regiments are not allocated on recruitment, but during or on completion of training. Therefore the information in the following tables refers only to the trained strength of the Royal Gloucestershire Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. The numbers recruited into the regiment are represented in terms of gains to the trained strength of the regiment.
	
		Gains to the trained strength of The Royal Gloucestershire Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (RGBW)
		
			 Financial year Officers Soldiers Total 
		
		
			 1999–2000 — 50 50 
			 2000–01 — 80 80 
			 2001–02 10 70 80 
			 2002–03 10 60 60 
			 2003–04 — 80 80 
		
	
	
		Trained strength of The Royal Gloucestershire Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (RGBW)
		
			   Infantry personnel with RGBW capbadge  Other (non-RGBW)  Total 
			 As at 1 April Serving in: Officer Soldier Officer Soldier Officer Soldier Total 
		
		
			 1999 RGBW Regiment 30 450 — 70 30 520 550 
			  Not serving with the Regiment 60 90 — — 60 90 140 
			  Total 80 530 — 70 90 610 690 
			 2000 RGBW Regiment 30 400 — 60 30 460 490 
			  Not serving with the Regiment 50 80 — — 50 80 140 
			  Total 80 480 — 60 80 540 630 
			 2001 RGBW Regiment 30 440 — 90 30 540 570 
			  Not serving with the Regiment 50 80 — — 50 80 130 
			  Total 80 520 — 90 80 610 690 
			 2002 RGBW Regiment 30 460 — 70 40 520 560 
			  Not serving with the Regiment 50 70 — — 50 70 120 
			  Total 80 530 — 70 80 600 680 
			 2003 RGBW Regiment 30 450 10 70 40 520 550 
			  Not serving with the Regiment 50 80 — — 50 80 130 
			  Total 80 530 10 70 90 590 680 
			 2004 RGBW Regiment 30 480 — 80 40 560 600 
			  Not serving with the Regiment 50 60 — — 50 60 110 
			  Total 80 540 — 80 80 620 710 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.

Body Armour

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sets of body armour were issued by the Army between 1989 and the end of January; to which units they were issued; how many men were serving in each of those units at the end of January; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I appreciate that the hon. Member has previously raised questions regarding the issue of body armour to armed forces personnel and I would refer him to the data for the period 1992–2003 that was published by the House of Commons Defence Committee on 8 June 2004 (HC 635), as part of the Government's response to its 'Lessons of Iraq' inquiry. Information prior to 1992 is unavailable. Additional issues data for 2004 to the end of January 2005 can be provided if required.
	Details of the units to which issues have been made since 1992 and the number of personnel serving in those units is not held centrally, may be incomplete and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Following lessons learned on Op Telic, a policy that guarantees the issue of body armour to personnel has now been endorsed and is currently being implemented. All Royal Marine, Army and Royal Air Force personnel are to be provided with combat body armour as an item of personal equipment. This is being undertaken in order of priority, commencing with personnel in operationally-liable units. The plates which are added to form enhanced combat body armour (ECBA) will be held centrally and issued to formations and units in accordance with readiness states, when required prior to deployment on overseas operations. Separate arrangements are in place to guarantee that Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the Reserves and civilian personnel in support of military operations overseas are also provided with ECBA prior to deployment.

Depleted Uranium

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many depleted uranium shells used by UK forces have been recovered from the waters of (a) the UK and (b) overseas and Commonwealth partners in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: There is no centralised system for recording such information. However, relevant work on this matter has been in progress since early December 2004 and is expected to be completed shortly. I will therefore write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

English Regiments

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the restructuring of the English regiments.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 16 December 2004, Official Report, column 1195.

EU Battlegroup

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK has given (a) individual and (b) joint commitment to an EU battlegroup; and if he will make a statement on the rotation cycle dates.

Geoff Hoon: During the initial operational capability period (2005–06), the UK has offered to hold at very high readiness, between 1 January and 30 June 2005, a national battlegroup drawn from our Joint Rapid Response Force. France has also offered a national battlegroup in parallel during the first half of 2005.
	For the full operational capability period (from 2007 onwards), the UK intends to contribute to the EU battlegroup co-ordinated pool through a lead nation battlegroup drawn from our Joint Rapid Response Force, and a multinational battlegroup in partnership with the Netherlands using the existing UK/Netherlands Amphibious Force. We will hold one of these at very high readiness for six months in any two year timeframe. The offers of battlegroups to the full operational capability will be co-ordinated by the contributing countries on a regular basis, to ensure that at least two battlegroups (of the 13 that have been offered so far) will be available at very high readiness at any one time.

Infantry

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of (a) recruiting, (b) testing and (c) providing basic training for an infantry recruit.

Ivor Caplin: The cost of recruiting and providing training for an Infantry recruit for the financial year 2003–04 at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick (ITC(C)) was as follows:
	
		
			  Cost for financial year 2003–04 (£) 
		
		
			 Recruiting cost 4,000 
			 Cost of training an infantryman 22,000 
			 Total training and recruiting costs 26,000 
		
	
	These costs are calculated on an accruals basis and include non cash items such as depreciation and cost of capital. The cost of testing a recruit is embedded within these costs and cannot be shown separately. Since April 2002 the infantry has had a combined phase 1 and 2 training course at ITC(C) and, as a result, it is now not possible to separate infantry training into distinctive basic and trade training costs.

Iraq

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales Royal Regiment will be deployed outside the British zone of responsibility in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: We have no plans to deploy the 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment outside the United Kingdom's area of responsibility in southern Iraq, with the exception of a single platoon from 2PWRR which will provide a protection force for senior British military personnel based in Baghdad. This is a routine deployment, and a direct replacement for a platoon from 40 Commando (Royal Marines), which is due to return to the UK over the next few days on completion of its tour of duty.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many doctors are allocated on a full-time basis to detention centres or prison centres run by British military authorities in Iraq.

Ivor Caplin: There is one doctor allocated full-time to the Divisional Temporary Detention Centre in Basrah, which is the only United Kingdom detention centre in Iraq.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Iraqi (a) men and (b) women were held in detention or in prison by British military forces in Iraq on 1 December 2004.

Adam Ingram: On 1 December 2004, there were 10 Iraqi male and no female internees in the divisional temporary detention facility in Basrah, which is the only United Kingdom detention facility in Iraq.

Manning/Record Offices

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what extra resources he is putting at the disposal of manning and record offices following his statement of 16 December 2004.

Ivor Caplin: The Army's Manning and Research Offices co-located in Glasgow between December1996 and July 1997, to become part of the Army Personnel Centre (APC), which is responsible for managing the careers of Army personnel.
	The APC sees no need for extra resources to manage the limited redundancy programme for 400 personnel, arising from the announcement on 16 December. The implications of managing the Infantry by individual posting rather than arms plotting are being carefully considered, as are the redeployment issues, but it is too soon to say whether additional resources will be required. The APC will keep the position under review.

Military Discipline

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were listed as being (a) absent without leave and (b) deserters on the 1 October of each of the last five years for which figures are available; and in each case what percentage this represented of the enrolled strength of the Army on that date.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Military Discipline

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force personnel served sentences at the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester, in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and in each case how many (i) resumed their military career and (ii) were discharged from the armed forces.

Adam Ingram: The number of service personnel, broken down by service, who have served sentences of detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) and were subsequently retained or discharged from the armed force in the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  RN RM ARMY RAF 
			  Retained Discharged Retained Discharged Retained Discharged Retained Discharged 
		
		
			 2000 49 20 8 3 765 343 36 7 
			 2001 47 23 15 8 596 368 47 11 
			 2002 45 28 13 5 654 363 38 10 
			 2003 62 23 6 2 653 366 43 8 
			 2004 73 23 15 5 649 452 40 6 
			 Total 276 117 57 23 3,317 1,892 204 42 
		
	
	In addition, 127 service personnel have passed through MCTC between 2000 to 2004 in transit to serve a sentence of imprisonment in a civil prison. These individuals are automatically discharged.

Military Discipline

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many female members of the armed forces served sentences at the Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: The number of female service personnel who have served sentences of detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre in the past five years is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 32 
			 2001 26 
			 2002 34 
			 2003 28 
			 2004 15 
			 Total 135

Nigel Gorman

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action has been taken against Wing Commander Nigel Gorman; under what regulations he was ordered back from his assignment; what charges were laid against him; and what procedures were adopted to hear and adjudicate on these charges.

Ivor Caplin: No charges have been brought against Wing Commander Gorman, but various allegations against him are subject to an on-going RAF police investigation. Wing Commander Gorman was not ordered back from his overseas detachment. The decision that he should return early was made with his agreement because of the nature of the allegations against him.

Parachute Regiment

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether trainees with the Parachute Regiment wear emergency parachutes during training jumps; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Trainees with the Parachute Regiment undergo their training as infantrymen at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick. Their course is 26 weeks in length, followed by a three week Basic Parachute Course at RAF Brize Norton. All jumps are made with the Low Level Reserve Parachute (LLRP), as the reserve parachute is known. Students are not allowed onto an aircraft for their first training jump until they are fully confident in the actions required to deploy the LLRP.

Parliamentary Questions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many written questions for his Department were unanswered when Parliament Prorogued; and how many of the unanswered questions were tabled in each of the previous months of the 2003–04 Session;
	(2)  when he will reply to the Question tabled for answer on 1 December, reference 201545.

Ivor Caplin: No written questions to the Ministry of Defence remained unanswered when the House Prorogued on 18 November.

Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what precedent he referred in deciding upon a method for disbanding the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

Adam Ingram: It is vital that we ensure that the Army of the future is properly configured to meet the priorities and challenges of the future, rather than the past. The Army has always evolved to meet current and future challenges and it is a fact that very few of our regiments and corps exist today in the same form as they did in the past.
	Of a number of options considered for the Prince of Wales's Division, the solution of merging the prior Glosters element of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and the prior Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment element of the RGBW with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was judged to offer the least overall disruption and the most coherent regional and structural outcome.

Service Discipline

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the complaints considered under redress procedures since 1997 concerned (a) sexual harassment, (b) racial harassment, (c) parental leave directive, (d) pay and (e) religion broken down by service.

Ivor Caplin: Information is not held in the form requested as the Services only hold statistics for the number of complaints considered at Service Board level. Details are as follows:
	Naval Service
	The Naval Service do not hold complete records prior to 2001. Between 2001 and 2003, one case involved sexual harassment and 22 pay related issues.
	Army
	Between 1999 and 2003, the Army recorded 29 complaints alleging sexual harassment, 18 alleged racial harassment, one religious harassment and 192 related to pay issues.
	RAF
	Between 1997 and 2003, the number of complaints for sexual harassment and discrimination was 87, the number for racial harassment and discrimination was 28 and 262 complaints concerned pay.

Tsunami (Military Assistance)

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Government Department is paying the costs of using the Hercules aircraft based at RAF Lyneham for disaster relief.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in assisting the Department for International Development (DfID) in providing disaster relief in the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. DfID has agreed to reimburse MOD the marginal costs incurred.

Welsh Regiments

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will change the name of the new Welsh infantry regiment to ensure that the names of the Royal Regiment of Wales and the Royal Welch Fusiliers are more prominent, in a manner similar to that used for the renaming of the Scottish infantry regiments.

Adam Ingram: As I have made clear throughout, the process of re-structuring the infantry has been worked through by the Army, consulting with the divisions and regiments concerned.
	The outcome of the Army's deliberations, announced on 16 December by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, is that a new large infantry regiment will be formed to represent Wales. The Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Wales will combine to form what will be known as The Royal Welsh Regiment. They will be known respectively as 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) and 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Regiment of Wales).

Welsh Regiments

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the decision was taken not to name the new Royal Welsh regiment by showing its name in brackets behind the old battalion names in the same way as the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Adam Ingram: The Executive Committee of the Army Board (ECAB) took into account advice from the Colonel Commandant of the Prince of Wales's Division (in which the Welsh regiments sit) as the representative of the regiments concerned. The ECAB accepted this advice and concluded that the new regiment should be called The Royal Welsh and that its two battalions should be called 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) and 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Regiment of Wales).
	The title for the new Scottish Regiment and those for its constituent battalions proposed by the Colonel Commandant of the Scottish Division, were endorsed by the ECAB, who considered that the bold move direct to the largest single cap badge regiment warranted the retention of the antecedent names foremost. It was also felt that given the very different nature and large geographical spread of the existing regiments from Scotland, this would help maintain the best possible recruitment.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the net current expenditure on asylum seekers by each local authority in (a) Scotland and (b) Wales has been in each year since 1996–97.

Des Browne: The information is not available in the precise format requested. There is no information available for financial years prior to 1999–2000. The Home Office assumed responsibility for the budget for asylum seekers on 1 April 1999.
	For Wales, The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) makes payments direct to each local authority responsible for supporting asylum seekers. Information is only available for the periods 6 December 1999–31 March 2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02 and this information is reproduced.
	For Scotland, in the years 1999–2000 to 2001–02, NASS made payments to the Scottish Executive who distributed the funding to local authorities in Scotland supporting asylum seekers. NASS does not have any information relating to expenditure incurred by Scottish local authorities.
	
		£
		
			  6 December 1999 to 31 March 2000 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 
			 Local Authority Expenditure claimed Maximum claim Expenditure claimed Maximum claim Expenditure claimed Maximum claim 
		
		
			 Blaenau Gwent County — — 6,014.39 7,280.00 — — 
			 Bridgend County 1,844.00 1,680.00 — — — — 
			 Caerphllly County 10,946.21 13,819.02 35,659.12 43,680.00 23,413.05 22,770.00 
			 Cardiff 175,850.00 206,393.00 753,207.00 799,560.00 471,029.00 475,020.00 
			 Carmarthenshire — — — — — — 
			 Ceredigion CC — — 3,118.65 3,780.00 6,350.15 7,280.00 
			 Conwy CBC 1,200.00 2,240.00 2,925.00 5,460.00 — — 
			 Denbighshire County 1,300.00 1,300.00 5,276.83 7,280.00 1,007.21 1,240.00 
			 Flintshire 1,750.00 2,520.00 2,747.16 7,280.00 2,396.69 6,020.00 
			 Gwynedd — — 749.07 700.00 — — 
			 Isle of Anglesey CC — — — — — — 
			 Merthyr Tydfil County 1,220.65 2,380.00 3,269.17 6,300.00 — — 
			 Monmouthshire County 6,425.24 4,480.00 10,610.28 14,560.00 11,292.10 14,560.00 
			 Neath Port Talbot 1,685.81 2,380.00 8,186.10 14,560.00 5,740.15 7,280.00 
			 Newport County (South Wales) 30,721.36 27,871.73 167,784.43 160,400.00 159,494.42 179,370.00 
			 Pembrokeshire 6,923.53 6,923.53 32,295.00 34,339.20 10,226.56 12,320.00 
			 Powys CC — — — — — — 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff County 16,713.36 14,041.00 50,635.77 56,860.00 31,424.00 39,740.00 
			 Swansea City and County 6,973.15 27,380.00 36,504.00 45,960.00 39,264.68 48,360.00 
			 Torfaen CBC — — — — — — 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 17,122.00 13,320.00 54,501.00 56,160.00 55,009.00 56,160.00 
			 Wrexham — — — — — — 
			 Total 280,675.31 326,728.28 1,173,482.97 1,264,159.20 816,647.01 870,120.00

Asylum Seekers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been held at HMP Lewes in each month from January 2003 to date; and how many (a) had been convicted of an offence, (b) were on remand and (c) were otherwise held in each month.

Des Browne: holding answer 10 January 2005
	Details of the nationality or immigration status of a defendant proceeded against are not collected centrally on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. Therefore it is not possible to say how many asylum seekers who have been convicted of an offence or were on remand are held at Her Majesty's Prison Lewes.
	Information on the number of persons who had claimed asylum at some stage and were detained at Her Majesty's Prison Lewes solely under Immigration Act powers, on the final Saturday of each quarter since January 2003 is shown in the table. Information on the total number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers in each month is not available.
	
		Persons recorded as being in detention in HMP Lewes solely under Immigration Act powers, who have applied for asylum at some stage(8)
		
			 As at given date Number of detainees 
		
		
			 29 March 2003 * 
			 28 June 2003 * 
			 27 September 2003 * 
			 27 December 2003 * 
			 27 March 2004 * 
			 28 June 2004 5 
			 25 September 2004 * 
		
	
	(8) Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with * = 1 or 2
	Work is ongoing to improve the quality of data held on those people detained under Immigration Act powers in Prison Service establishments.
	Information on persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers is published on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum Seekers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information in respect of asylum seekers held within prison establishments is provided to outside individuals and groups who have as part of their remit the helping of such individuals.

Des Browne: holding answer 10 January 2005
	Her Majesty's Prison Service does not provide personal data about individual prisoners to other organisations because of Data Protection Act considerations.
	All prisons have a Legal Services Officer whose role is to facilitate access to legal services for all prisoners in respect of all legal issues, including asylum claims. A number of establishments—such as Brixton—work with non-governmental organisations such as the Detainee Advice Service to ensure prisoners have access to advice on their immigration cases.

British Passports

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time for a British passport application to be processed has been in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The average processing times provided in the table relate to the time taken to issue straightforward, properly completed applications by the UK Passport Service during the calendar year.
	
		
			  Average processing time (days) 
		
		
			 1997 8.4 
			 1998 11.3 
			 1999 19.8 
			 2000 5.1 
			 2001 4.4 
			 2002 4.0 
			 2003 3.9 
			 2004 4.9

British Passports

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of British people without (a) a passport and (b) a driving licence in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The table indicates, within a range, the number of people resident in Britain that do not hold a valid UK passport; and the population not holding a driver's licence.
	
		Million
		
			  (a) Resident population not holding passports (b) Population not holding a driving licence 
		
		
			 2004(9) 11.16–16.94 24.61 
			 2003 12.33–18.19 24.43 
			 2002 14.30–20.13 24.21 
			 2001 16.49–22.25 24.03 
			 2000 18.62–24.21 23.64 
			 1999 20.57–26.04 23.48 
			 1998 22.58–27.83 23.31 
			 1997 25.04–29.85 23.17 
		
	
	(9) 2004 passport figure calculated using figures up to November 2004.
	Sources:
	(a) UK Passport Service
	(b) DVLA

British Passports

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British passports have been issued in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The number of passports issued by the UK Passport Service for each calendar year was as follows:
	
		
			  Number of passports issued 
		
		
			 1997 4,729,467 
			 1998 4,851,215 
			 1999 5,614,360 
			 2000 5,492,141 
			 2001 5,668,272 
			 2002 5,397,050 
			 2003 5,532,350 
			 2004 6,070,626

British Passports

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forged passports have been impounded in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: Figures are not kept centrally within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) for the number of forged passports impounded each year.
	Since 1997 numbers of fraudulent travel documents detected at United Kingdom ports of entry are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 4,411 
			 1998 6,338 
			 1999 5,516 
			 2000 5,394 
			 2001 6,601 
			 2002 9,664 
			 2003 7,985 
		
	
	Since 2001 the National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU) has had a permanent presence in the main offices of IND in Croydon, following a pilot exercise which revealed large numbers of fraudulent travel documents being submitted in support of applications for leave to remain. Fraudulent documents detected by NDFU in Croydon from 2001 are:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 360 
			 2002 461 
			 2003 837 
		
	
	The NDFU makes a significant contribution to work being carried out internationally in the EU, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and G8 to disrupt the work of forgers and to encourage states to impound, and thereby withdraw from circulation, forged and fraudulent passports and other travel documents detected. It also works closely with travel document issuing agencies in order to combat identity fraud and support the operation of border controls.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had in the last two years regarding the terms of reference of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Paul Goggins: I am the Minister with responsibility for the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
	As such, I have visited the Commission and been involved in general discussions and correspondence about its work. Officials have also had numerous discussions with the Commission about all aspects of its work including some proposed changes to its powers and jurisdiction. Over the last two years there has been no occasion where it was necessary for Ministers to hold discussions regarding the terms of reference of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Identity Fraud

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with his Department's project examining the feasibility of sharing data about deceased persons with organisations involved in fraud prevention.

Des Browne: The Home Office-led Identity Fraud Steering Committee, which comprises public and private sector organisations that are committed to reducing identity fraud, began a project in November 2004 to explore the benefits, feasibility and legal impediments of sharing public sector deceased person information with private sector organisations involved in fraud prevention.
	The project is making good progress and is due for completion at the end of January 2005.

Immigration Appeals

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials at the Immigration Appellate Authority will set a date for the appeal hearing of a constituent of the hon. Member for Vauxhall, reference number: M1154882.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	There is currently no appeal before the Immigration Appellate Authority. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate has confirmed that it has no record of an appeal for this case.

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs are associated with the issue of (a) a free-standing identity card and (b) a combined passport and identity card.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave in reply to the question from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West (John Barrett), on 20 December 2004, Official Report, column 1901W.

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he plans to make to allow British citizens living overseas to register for identity cards.

Des Browne: The identity cards scheme will apply to British citizens resident in the United Kingdom, as well as to foreign nationals legally resident for more than three months. There will be no requirement on British citizens resident abroad to register for an identity card until such time as they come to take up residence here.

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of countries which (a) have introduced national identity cards since September 2001 and (b) are in the process of introducing them.

Des Browne: Identity card schemes have existed in most EU countries for many years. Only the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Latvia do not have an identity card scheme, although Denmark has a system of population registration.
	Lithuania introduced identity cards in 2003. Sweden has plans to introduce a national identity card scheme to replace privately issued identity cards available at present. Latvia also has plans to introduce identity cards. In addition, countries such as Germany and France are actively looking at ways in which to increase security of their identity cards.
	Home Office officials have had detailed discussions with colleagues involved in the operation of identity card schemes in Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany and lessons learned have informed the development of policy where appropriate. Comprehensive information has been supplied by each of the EU member states on the operation of their card schemes. The results of this work comprise Annex 3 of "Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud: A Consultation" (CM 5557) published in July 2002.

Identity Cards

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals illegally resident in the UK have been found to be in possession of forged Portuguese identity cards in the last 12 months.

Des Browne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND's) National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU) leads the UK response to travel document abuse. In April 2004 NDFU co-ordinated an exercise at several UK ports of entry, focusing on abuse of Portuguese identity cards. This repeated earlier similar exercises. NDFU have also recently produced a guide to Portuguese documentation for the specific use of enforcement staff, who are responsible for identifying those in the UK unlawfully. Although statistics are not collated centrally in respect of the numbers of forged documents found in possession of those illegally in the UK, during the period 1 January 2004 to 30 November 2004, enforcement staff brought 108 forged Portuguese identity cards (out of a total of 141 forged identity cards from all EU nationalities) to the attention of NDFU. During the same period, 236 forged Portuguese identity cards were detected at UK ports of entry (of a total of 1,417 forged identity cards of all EU nationalities) and 21 forged Portuguese identity cards (of a total of 42) were detected at IND's Croydon offices.

Initiatives (Funding)

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budget was allocated to the (a) Correctional Services Board, (b) National Offender Management Service, (c) Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group, (d) National Victims Advisory Panel, (e) Police Leadership Development Board, (f) National Asylum Support Forum, (g) Action Against Crime Business Group and (h) Sentencing Guidelines Council in each of the last two years; and how many staff each organisation employed in each year.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The Correctional Services Board ceased to exist following the creation of the National Offender Management Service on 1 June 2004. It did not have a dedicated full-time staff, the secretariat function being met by Correctional Services staff. The Board's budget of £70,000 in the financial year 2003–04 was for the expenses of its non-executive members.
	(b) The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) came into existence on 1 June 2004. The total budget for the elements that make up NOMS was £3.29 billion resource and £0.31 billion capital in April 2004. As the structure of NOMS has not been finalised it is not yet possible to give the number of staff employed.
	(c) The Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group had a budget of £25 million in the financial year 2003–04 and £24 million in 2004–05. On average, the Group employed 27 staff.
	(d) There was no formal budget allocation for the National Victims Advisory Panel in the financial year 2003–04, but £10,000 of its non-pay running costs was found from Home Office funds. There was a budget of £20,000 for 2004–05. The Panel does not have a dedicated secretariat. Four Home Office staff oversee the administration and running of the Panel, although this is only part of their work.
	(e) The Police Leadership Development Board (PLDB) was established in 2001 and is chaired by HM Inspector of Constabulary. It oversees a programme of work to promote and develop effective leadership across the police service, which is delivered by the Home Office, the police service and its training and development providers. It has no budget or staff. Programme costs are met by the Home Office.
	(f) The National Asylum Support Forum is a regular meeting at which representatives from key stakeholder groups discuss current and future issues in Asylum Support. Costs to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) of contributing to not been finalised it is not yet possible to give the number of staff employed.
	(g) The Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group had a budget of £25 million in the financial year 2003–04 and £24 million in 2004–05. On average, the Group employed 27 staff.
	(h) The Sentencing Guidelines Council was appointed in March 2004, and shares a secretariat with the Sentencing Advisory Panel. The budget for the Council and Panel in the financial year 2003–04 was £0.546 million and during that time the Secretariat increased from three staff to the current level of 14 staff to support the new body. The budget allocated to the Council and Panel in 2004–05 is £0.909 million.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans have been developed for qualifications, training and career development for the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: Planning has begun on the creation of a learning and development strategy for National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Working closely with Skills for Justice (the Sector Skills Council for the justice sector) and regional probation training consortia, this strategy will identify new learning programmes and qualifications needed to support the development of NOMS.
	As the offender management model is developed, a particular priority will be to define the competencies needed to undertake that role, and hence to develop learning programmes.
	The Prison Service and the National Probation Service are also developing proposals for an integrated approach to leadership and management development for managers across NOMS. An early output will be the creation of a development programme for the 10 Regional Offender Managers.

Passports

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the timescale is for the inclusion of (a) facial, (b) fingerprint and (c) iris biometrics in passports.

Des Browne: The UK Passport Service currently plans to commence production of chip enabled passports containing a facial image by the last quarter in 2005.
	We are at present considering the benefits and impacts of the possible introduction of fingerprint and/or iris biometrics. Unlike the facial biometrics, inclusion of either or both of these biometrics will require the personal attendance of all passport applicants. I have announced that adults applying for a passport for the first time will have to apply in person from the last quarter of 2006. However to require all applicants to apply in person and to record and store their additional biometrics would have a significant impact on UKPS operations and processes and a decision will not be taken on this until later in 2005.

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and accounts were undertaken by the police per day on average in the last period for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: There is no data currently held centrally on Stop and Account procedures. The requirement to record all stops in line with recommendation 61 of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry becomes effective on April 1 2005.

Prison Service

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the guidance set out in HM Treasury Green Book was followed in regard to the decision to reintroduce market testing to the Prison Service.

Paul Goggins: The guidance set out in Her Majesty's Treasury Green Book is to ensure that no programme is adopted without prior consideration of whether there are better ways of achieving the end result and better uses for the resources involved. In his report "Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime" published in December 2003 Lord Carter of Coles recommended that market testing should be reintroduced on the basis that contestability demonstrates value for money in the delivery of cost effective correctional services. The Government accepted this recommendation in its response published in January 2004 "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives". Value for money in respect of a prisons market test is demonstrated through the evaluation of bids submitted by the private and public sectors.

Prison Service

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many employees of the Prison Service have been disciplined for improper use of official cars since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001;
	(2)  how many prison officers have been disciplined since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001 for dishonest claims for travel allowances.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 9 December 2004
	The information required is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison cells were available for use at each prison establishment on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many prisoners could be housed in those cells.

Paul Goggins: The total number of prison cells and other accommodation is not recorded centrally. The standard unit of prison accommodation is the prison place, which includes cells, cubicles, dormitories, rooms or wards. When totalled, it represents the uncrowded capacity of a prison, or Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA).
	The total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold in its accommodation is the prison's operational capacity. It is determined by area managers on the basis of operational judgement and experience, taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime.
	Data on prison capacity in England and Wales, as at 26 November 2004 (the last date for which figures are available), is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Prison CNA places Operational capacity 
		
		
			 Acklington 882 882 
			 Albany 526 526 
			 Altcourse 614 1,024 
			 Ashfield 300 300 
			 Ashwell 535 545 
			 Askham Grange 151 151 
			 Aylesbury 356 372 
			 Bedford 325 464 
			 Belmarsh 792 921 
			 Birmingham 100 1,400 
			 Blakenhurst 641 880 
			 Blantyre House 122 122 
			 Blundeston 420 464 
			 Brinsford 477 493 
			 Bristol 426 606 
			 Brixton 606 798 
			 Brockhill 145 48 
			 Bronzefield 451 451 
			 BuckleyHall 350 385 
			 Bullingdon 759 963 
			 Bullwood Hall 180 184 
			 Camp Hill 513 585 
			 Canterbury 196 314 
			 Cardiff 525 754 
			 Castington 400 410 
			 Channings Wood 634 667 
			 Chelmsford 446 575 
			 Coldingley 370 390 
			 CookhamWood 12 168 
			 Dartmoor 598 625 
			 Deerbolt 513 518 
			 Doncaster 771 1,120 
			 Dorchester 143 250 
			 Dovegate 858 858 
			 Dover(10) 316 316 
			 Downview 210 210 
			 Drake Hall 315 315 
			 Durham 552 787 
			 East Sutton Park 94 100 
			 Eastwood Park 310 346 
			 Edmunds Hill 308 310 
			 Elmley 763 985 
			 Erlestoke 426 426 
			 Everthorpe 437 469 
			 Exeter 316 533 
			 Featherstone 599 615 
			 Feltham 761 761 
			 Ford 541 541 
			 Forest Bank 800 1,064 
			 Foston Hall 267 274 
			 Frankland 693 709 
			 Full Sutton 596 608 
			 Garth 633 667 
			 Gartree 399 404 
			 Glen Parva 668 808 
			 Gloucester 229 328 
			 Grendon 241 235 
			 Guys Marsh 519 570 
			 Haslar(10) 123 123 
			 Haverigg 554 564 
			 Hewell Grange 167 170 
			 Highdown 643 747 
			 Highpoint 792 816 
			 Hindley 539 539 
			 Hollesley Bay 330 330 
			 Holloway 522 522 
			 Holme House 857 994 
			 Hull 812 1,071 
			 Huntercombe 36 368 
			 Kingston 138 140 
			 Kirkham 588 590 
			 Kirklevington 223 223 
			 Lancaster 98 180 
			 Lancaster Farms 480 527 
			 Latchmere House 207 207 
			 Leeds 806 1,254 
			 Leicester 191 355 
			 Lewes 442 529 
			 Leyhill 508 508 
			 Lincoln 307 490 
			 Lindholme(10) 784 784 
			 Littlehey 654 696 
			 Liverpool 1,186 1,476 
			 Long Lartin 442 442 
			 Low Newton 343 396 
			 Lowdham Grange 504 524 
			 Maidstone 548 548 
			 Manchester 954 1,269 
			 Moorland 740 779 
			 Moorland Open 260 260 
			 Morton Hall 391 392 
			 Mount 704 760 
			 New Hall 367 426 
			 North Sea Camp 307 307 
			 Northallerton 153 254 
			 Norwich 583 811 
			 Nottingham 385 510 
			 Onley 580 580 
			 Parc 859 136 
			 Parkhurst 459 507 
			 Pentonville 889 1,205 
			 Portland 447 472 
			 Frescoed 160 170 
			 Preston 331 62 
			 Ranby 760 858 
			 Reading 186 289 
			 Risley 1038 1,073 
			 Rochester 392 392 
			 Rye Hill 600 664 
			 Send 219 219 
			 Shepton Mallet 163 189 
			 Shrewsbury 168 300 
			 Spring Hill 318 318 
			 Stafford 680 680 
			 Standford Hill 464 464 
			 Stocken 595 622 
			 Stoke Heath 574 690 
			 Styal 406 457 
			 Sudbury 551 559 
			 Swaleside 756 778 
			 Swansea 205 348 
			 Swinfen Hall 431 440 
			 Thorn Cross 316 31 
			 Usk 150 250 
			 Verne 552 587 
			 Wakefield 561 565 
			 Wandsworth 995 1,462 
			 Warren Hill 222 222 
			 Wayland 657 709 
			 Wealstun 842 892 
			 Weare 398 398 
			 Wellingborough 516 526 
			 Werrington 146 148 
			 Wetherby 342 342 
			 Whatton 341 360 
			 Whitemoor 450 450 
			 Winchester 437 655 
			 Wolds 310 360 
			 Woodhill 650 762 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,167 1,239 
			 Wymott 1,021 1,046 
		
	
	(10) Dover and Haslar in their entirety and 112 of Lindholme's places are designated Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), which are managed by the Prison Service on behalf of Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Private Finance Initiative

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts with his Department have been won by subsidiaries of Halliburton in each year from 1997; what the terms were of each contract; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: From the best information available, the Department has no such contracts.

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of historical sex abuse cases reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been referred to the Court of Appeal due to (a) new evidence and (b) exceptional circumstances.

Paul Goggins: The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred two cases of historical sex abuse to the Court of Appeal. There was new evidence in either of these cases. No such cases have been referred to the Court of Appeal because of exceptional circumstances.

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of historical sex abuse the Criminal Cases Review Commission have reviewed; and how many they are reviewing.

Paul Goggins: The Criminal Cases Review Commission has completed 15 reviews of historical sex abuse cases. It has eight under review at the moment and six waiting to be reviewed.

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Criminal Cases Review Commission has established a database on historical sex abuse cases in order to identify generic patterns.

Paul Goggins: The Criminal Cases Review Commission has established a database on historical sex abuse cases but does not consider that it has sufficient cases with which to identify generic patterns.

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes the Criminal Cases Review Commission has suggested to police procedures in the light of its review of historic sex abuse cases.

Paul Goggins: The Criminal Cases Review Commission has not suggested any changes to police procedures in the light of its review of historic sex abuse cases.

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of the co-operation between the Historical Abuse Appeal Panel and the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Paul Goggins: There have been several meetings between representatives of the Commission and the Historical Abuse Appeal Panel. Relevant issues have been discussed and a protocol between the two organisations has been drafted.

Sex Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of interviews with adult witnesses in historical sex abuse cases were recorded in each of the last 10 years.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has (a) been stolen and (b) been reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

Fiona Mactaggart: There has been only one loss of £28.67 reported since 2001. Due to the low value of the item lost, this incident was not reported to the Police.

UK Citizenship

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, under plans from his Department, all applicants for UK citizenship will have to prove that they can speak English regardless of how long they have lived in the UK.

Des Browne: The requirement that all those applying for naturalisation should provide evidence of language skills at or above, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Entry 3 came into force on 28 July 2004.
	The requirement applies equally to all applicants irrespective of the time they have been resident in the UK. There is discretion to waive the requirement where it would be unreasonable to expect the applicant to fulfil it because of age or physical or mental condition.

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the results of the monitoring project on the effectiveness of limitations on cross examination about previous sexual history under section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 12 January 2005
	We intend publishing a report on the evaluation of these provisions in late spring.

PRIME MINISTER

Appointments Commission

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to seek further appointments by the House of Lords Appointments Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The Appointments Commission continues to consider nominations and I propose to ask them for further recommendations shortly.

Constitutional Treaty

John Cryer: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission regarding the proposed referendum on the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union.

Tony Blair: None.

E-mails

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many e-mails have been permanently deleted by his Office in each month since July 2004.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minster for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Miliband) today.

Engagements

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for February.

Tony Blair: My official spokesman announces my future engagements as appropriate.

Global Warming (United States)

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister what progress he has made in his representations to the US Administration regarding that country's engagement in efforts to effectively tackle global warming; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr. Khabra) at Prime Minister's questions on 17 November 2004, Official Report, column 1350.

Iraq

Alan Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the oral answer of 8 December 2004, Official Report, column 1167, what the basis was for his claim that the United Nations appointed the interim Government in Iraq; and under what legal provision this appointment was made.

Tony Blair: The Iraqi Interim Government (IIG), as outlined in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), was appointed by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi (the then UN Secretary-General's special adviser on Iraq) after thorough consultations with Iraqis representing all Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups and with the Coalition Provisional Authority. UN Resolution 1546 endorses the formation of the IIG, and its assumption of full responsibility and authority for Iraq following the transfer of authority in June. A national conference was held in August to elect an Advisory Council to oversee the performance of the IIG, whose structures and powers were enshrined in an annexe to the TAL.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will commission an independent inquiry into the number of Iraqis (a) killed and (b) injured since March 2003.

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Prime Minister if he will establish a comprehensive and independent inquiry into the number of Iraqi casualties since the invasion of March 2003.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) at Prime Minister's questions on 8 December 2004, Official Report, columns 1166–67.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Prime Minister whether the contracts signed by his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Tony Blair: All special advisers are employed on contracts based on the Model Contract for Special Advisers. There is a provision in No. 10 for up to three special advisers to have executive powers. This would be reflected in their contract.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

"Awareness of Comprehensive Performance Assessment"

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the research study conducted by MORI for the Audit Commission entitled Awareness of Comprehensive Performance Assessment among the general public published in December 2002.

Nick Raynsford: MORI conducted the survey entitled 'Awareness of Comprehensive Performance Assessment among the general public' on behalf of the Audit Commission. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member. Copies of his letter will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Letter from Steve Bundred to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 18 January 2005
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has passed your parliamentary question to me for reply.
	In 2002 MORI conducted a survey on our behalf entitled Awareness of Comprehensive Performance Assessment among the general public. The report was not made public, but I am pleased to enclose a copy for your use.
	Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information about this survey report.

Beacon Councils

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what central Government expenditure on the beacon council scheme was in each year since its creation.

Nick Raynsford: The beacon council scheme has been running since 1999 and is now in its sixth round. Estimated central Government expenditure on the previous five rounds is tabled as follows.
	
		£ million
		
			  Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 
		
		
			 Reward Grant 0.7 1.7 1.7 3 3 
			 Peer Support Grant 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Panel Costs 0.150 0.190 0.185 0.190 0.190 
			 Administration 0.150 0.250 0.230 0.240 0.235 
			 Total 1.0 2.14 2.115 5.43 5.425

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average band (a) A, (b) B, (c) G and (d) H council tax bills were in England in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is in the below.
	
		£
		
			  Average area council tax (two adults) 
			 Financial year Band A Band B Band G Band H 
		
		
			 1997–98 459 535 1,147 1,376 
			 2004–05 778 907 1,945 2,333

Departmental Credit Cards

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many credit cards for official expenditure are held by his Department.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister uses the Government procurement card (GPC) and corporate card. To date the total number of cards currently held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is 220 of which 188 are GPC and 32 are corporate cards.
	Apart from these, there are no other credit cards held within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of refurbishments in his Department was in each year since 1997; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Yvette Cooper: For 2004–05 the estimated out-turn expenditure is £5,352,399. Of this £4,697,000 was spent on the Government offices.
	In 2005–06 expenditure of £3,103,000 is planned. Of this £1,305,000 is to be spent on the Government offices and £440,000 on the Fire Service College. The planned spend on the offices of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister includes costs involved in re-planning parts of its accommodation to improve the occupational space density.
	Although the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the buildings occupied by Government offices, they carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
	For information on previous years' expenditure I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State (Phil Hope) on 11 November 2004, Official Report, columns 842–43W.

Derelict Land

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) area of sites designated as derelict land, broken down by region.

Keith Hill: The National Land Use Database of Previously-Developed Land provides estimates which are tabled as follows.
	
		Derelict land and buildings in England, 2003
		
			  Number of sites reported by local authorities Estimated total area (hectares) 
		
		
			 North East 144 1,520 
			 North West 1,250 5,700 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 457 3,160 
			 East Midlands 416 1,950 
			 West Midlands 447 1,730 
			 East of England 233 2,420 
			 London 90 370 
			 South East 211 1,440 
			 South West 360 2,250 
			 England 3,608 20,550 
		
	
	Note:
	The estimates of total areas include an allowance for incomplete reporting.

District Auditing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the cost of (a) district audit and (b) district auditors in England in the current financial year; and whether this is included in the Audit Commission's annual expenditure.

Nick Raynsford: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission. I will ask the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Steve Bundred to Mrs. Caroline Spelman, dated 14 January 2005
	District Audit was amalgamated with the Audit Commission Inspection Service in November 2002. The costs of this combined activity identified in 2004–05 are £95.8 million for England and £13 million for Wales and are shown in our accounts. Allocating these costs between audit and inspection services would result in audit costs of £77.3 million for England and £10 million for Wales. These figures exclude support and management costs which are accounted for centrally. They also exclude the costs of audits conducted by the private firms appointed by us to audit around 30 per cent. of local authority and NHS bodies.
	District Auditor is a grade of staff employed within the Audit Commission. The total cost, including all on costs but again excluding support and management costs, for this grade of staff for 2004–05 is £6.6 million.
	Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information about this issue.

Fire and Rescue Services

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish in full the recent business case undertaken on behalf of his Department for proposals to abolish individual fire and rescue control centres.

Nick Raynsford: A copy of the draft outline business case is already available on the web. http://www.firecontrol.odpm.gov.uk/.

Fire and Rescue Services

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire appliances are proposed to be redeployed at night time away from their day time deployments under the draft Integrated Risk Management Plan documents published by fire and rescue authorities in England.

Nick Raynsford: Examination of all Integrated Risk Management Plans has yet to be undertaken. Of those seen to date, none contain proposals to redeploy appliances at night time away from their day time locations.

Gypsy/Traveller Sites

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the registered social landlords involved in providing and managing sites for Gypsies and Travellers in the West Midlands.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not maintain a listing of those registered social landlords (RSLs) that are involved in the provision and management of Gypsy and Traveller sites.
	The Government have stated their intention to extend the permissible purposes of the Housing Corporation, which will allow RSLs to obtain funding for the development and management of Gypsy and Traveller sites.

Homelessness (Swale)

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless people in Swale have sought help from Swale borough council since 2001; and how many homeless people are accommodated by Swale borough council (a) within and (b) outside its boundary.

Yvette Cooper: Information collected about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is in respect of households, rather than persons. The total number of decisions reported by Swale borough council in respect of applications made by households during each year since 2000–01, and the number that were accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need are tabled below. Also shown are the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation arranged by Swale BC as at the end of March each year, both within and outside its own boundary. Data are also shown for the first two quarters of 2004–05.
	
		Homelessness activity(11) reported by Swale borough council
		
			  Decisions(12) made on homelessness applications Households in temporary accommodation arranged(13) by local authorities, as at end year (31 March) 
			   of which:  of which: 
			  Total Accepted Total inside district outside district 
		
		
			 2000–01 444 315 36 36 0 
			 2001–02 500 371 78 69 9 
			 2002–03 566 336 112 84 28 
			 2003–04 544 239 161 137 24 
			 2004–05 (April-September)  254 125 (14)172 (14)150 (14)22 
		
	
	(11) Under homelessness legislation
	(12) Decisions on applications from households eligible for assistance under the homelessness provisions of housing legislation. Excludes ineligible applications.
	(13) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting re-allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as "homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	(14) as at end September
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)
	After being accepted as homeless, a household will be placed in some form of accommodation. They may be placed in temporary accommodation, until a settled solution becomes available, or they may be given a settled solution straight away depending on the accommodation available to the local authority. As an alternative to temporary accommodation an authority may arrange for a household to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	Some of the households in temporary accommodation were being accommodated pending completion of enquiries into their application, or awaiting the outcome of an LA review/county court appeal against the authority's decision, or had been found intentionally homeless and subsequently were being accommodated for a reasonable period as permitted under legislation.
	Information is also collected, since 1998, on the number of people who sleep rough, that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night. Swale borough council reported no persons sleeping rough in their district.
	Quarterly Statistical Releases on statutory homelessness published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister include information on decisions, and households in temporary accommodation, at local authority level in an associated Supplementary Table. The latest Release of, 13 December, and previous editions are available both in the Library of the House and via the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.

Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish regular aggregated information on the number of (a) social and (b) affordable homes planned by the regional housing boards.

Keith Hill: Decisions on the amount of regional housing pot funding to be used for provision of social rented and other affordable housing are taken in the light of advice from Regional Housing Boards. In announcing our decisions, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, will set out details of the regional spend totals and estimates of the numbers of homes to be provided, indicating where this varies from the Housing Board recommendations.

Housing Stock Transfers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will commission a study on the merits of a levy on the profits of registered social landlords benefiting from large scale voluntary transfers, to be returned as a bonus to the community transferring its council housing.

Keith Hill: Registered social landlords (RSLs) are non-profit distributing businesses. Where an RSL has any operating surplus following the receipt of local authority housing stock, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister would expect this surplus to be used to further contribute towards the Government's sustainable communities strategy.

Living Spaces Programme

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many applications to the Living Spaces programme are awaiting a decision on funding;
	(2)  if he will list the schemes in Tower Hamlets that have (a) been granted funding from the Living Spaces programme and (b) are awaiting a decision on funding from the programme.

Phil Hope: 340 community groups are awaiting a decision on funding having applied to the Living Spaces programme. These groups have had their initial application approved and have been allocated a trained "enabler" who will help them to develop their proposed project and draw up an action plan as part of the project assessment process. Following recommendation from the enabler, the project assessment is submitted to Living Spaces for approval and successful groups are then offered a grant.
	To date, three projects in Tower Hamlets have been granted funding from the Living Spaces programme. They are:
	The Escape! project, which has been awarded a grant of £5,000 to create a community garden and improve access to the Cedar Community Centre on the Isle of Dogs.
	The Attlee Youth and Community Centre project, which has been awarded a grant of £83,005 to provide a play area and sensory garden as part of a wider development project to improve facilities at the centre.
	The Bromley by Bow Community Park project, which has been awarded a grant of £75,000 to improve facilities at the park and create a welcoming, safe green space for the community.
	A further two community groups from Tower Hamlets have applied to Living Spaces. These groups have had their initial application approved and have since worked up their plans with the help of a Living Spaces enabler. Once Living Spaces receives a final recommendation from the enabler a decision on funding will be taken. The projects are:
	The Bio Diverse and Tasty Landscaping project, which has applied for a grant of £23,026 to create a community garden on the basis of sustainable living at Spitalfields City Farm.
	The Safe Links to Living Well project, which has applied for a grant of £20,000 to improve access to Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park by replacing neglected entrance gates with wheelchair-friendly kissing gates, and improve entrance areas with new planting.

Living Spaces Programme

Ross Cranston: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent in Dudley on the living spaces project in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; what the money has been spent on; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: To date no money has been spent in Dudley on the living spaces project. However one application for £25,000 is currently being processed. This is concerning work to the grounds of St. Thomas' Church in Stourbridge. The proposal is to improve access, seating and circulation, improved planting, the creation of a focal point sculpture and a welcoming new entrance feature.

Local Elections

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate the Government have made of the cost of providing freepost mailings to candidates in local elections; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: Freepost mailing is not available to candidates in local elections, other than where a local authority choose to include this in an electoral pilot. There was one such pilot in Hyndburn in May 2002 where the Electoral Commission reported the cost to the council to be £10,000.

Local Elections

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have to conduct future local elections, in whole or part, via remote electronic voting; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: As it was made clear in the response to the Electoral Commission's report, "Delivering democracy? The future of postal voting", laid before the House on 9 December 2004, the Government remain committed to the goal of multi-channel elections, in which voters choices will include e-voting channels. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's strategy for achieving this goal is to encourage local authorities to continue the programme of local electoral pilots, including remote e-voting.

Local Government Employees

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  when he will publish his Department's conclusions following its consultation on political restrictions on local government employees;
	(2)  which organisations responded to his Department's consultation paper on political restrictions on local government employees.

Nick Raynsford: The nearly 400 respondents to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's recent consultation on a review of political restrictions on local government employees included principal authorities, parish councils, employers and employees representative bodies, the Standards Board for England, the Audit Commission, the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors, and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to publish a summary of responses, and our proposals on next steps, in the spring.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what incentives are provided to local authorities to increase the rate of (a) council tax and (b) business rate collection; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: If a billing authority exceeds its estimated council tax collection rate, then any surplus is shared with the precepting authorities and can be used to fund future expenditure or keep down the council tax. There is no equivalent incentive with business rates collection.
	In addition Best Value Performance Indicators 9 and 10 respectively measure the in- year collection rate for council tax and business rates and this is taken into account in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment process.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of local government revenue expenditure in England was financed by council tax in each year from 1996–97; and what the estimated proportion for 2005–06 is.

Nick Raynsford: The proportion of local government revenue expenditure financed by council tax in England each year from 1996–97 is tabled as follows.
	
		
			  Council tax as a percentage of local government revenue expenditure 
		
		
			 1996–97 22 
			 1997–98 24 
			 1998–99 25 
			 1999–2000 25 
			 2000–01 25 
			 2001–02 25 
			 2002–03 25 
			 2003–04 26 
			 2004–05 26 
		
	
	The data are as reported by local authorities and are taken from outturn figures for 1996–97 to 2002–03 and budget estimates for 2003–04 and 2004–05. The figures shown are gross of council tax benefit.
	Data are not yet available for 2005–06.

Local Government Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons his Department did not use 2001 census data for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2005–06.

Nick Raynsford: I announced on 21 July 2004, Official Report, column 30WS, that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister would not be using the 2001 Census data in the 2005–06 settlement. This is because it would have been technically incorrect to have simply introduced the data without first amending the statistical models underlying the Formula Spending Share formulae. Changing the formulae in this way would have broken the three year formula freeze to which we are pledged in order to provide funding stability for authorities.
	Further research is being undertaken on the formula changes needed to incorporate the 2001 Census data into the Formula Spending Share formulae for a number of services, in particular Personal Social Services and police. This research should conclude in time to allow us to introduce the 2001 Census data in 2006–07, after the formula freeze has ended.

Local Government Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when his Department will issue guidance on how capping should be applied.

Nick Raynsford: Legislation requires that capping decisions are based on principles determined by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister as First Secretary of State. In reaching his decisions, he must make a comparison between an authority's budget requirement with that of a previous year. He can also determine other principles, such as increases in council tax. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister intends to determine his capping principles once authorities have set their 2005–06 budget requirements.
	The Government have delivered another good settlement for local government, which will ensure that authorities can provide a high level of service. There is no excuse for excessive council tax increases. We have made it clear that we expect to see an average council tax increase of less than 5 per cent. in England in 2005–06, and that we will take even tougher capping action in 2005–06 than we did in 2004–05 if that proves necessary. It is the responsibility of local authorities to budget prudently.

Local Government Inspection

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the inspection bodies that inspect and regulate local government in England.

Nick Raynsford: The following bodies carry out inspections within local authorities in England:
	Audit Commission (including the Housing Inspectorate)
	Benefit Fraud Inspectorate
	Office for Standards in Education
	Commission for Social Care Inspection
	Adult Learning Inspectorate
	HM Inspectorate of Probation (Inspection of Youth Offending Teams)
	Food Standards Agency
	Health and Safety Executive
	Office of the Surveillance Commissioner.

Local Government Ombudsman

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases where the local government ombudsman decision has been challenged on maladministration have been referred to the courts in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Raynsford: Information on cases for years prior to 2001 has not been retained by the ombudsman, and hence could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Numbers of cases which have been referred for judicial review, and their outcome, for each complete financial year since 2001 are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Number of cases referred 11 7 7 
			 Number of cases where ombudsman's  decision was upheld 11 7 7

Mobile Telephone Masts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many mobile phone base stations are within (a) 100 metres, (b) 300 metres and (c) 500 metres of a school.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold the information requested centrally and could provide it only at disproportionate cost.

Planning

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the change in the number of planning appeals has been in the last three years.

Keith Hill: The information requested, which has been extracted from the Planning Inspectorate's Annual Report and Accounts, is tabled as follows:
	
		Planning appeal receipts—England
		
			  
		
		
			 2000–01 15,336 
			 2001–02 16,776 
			 2002–03 18,554 
			 2003–04 22,550

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what was the estimated aggregate revenue from planning fees in England for each year since 1996–97.

Keith Hill: Aggregated receipts to local planning authorities for planning applications in England for the financial years 1996–97 to 2003–04 are tabled as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1996–97 110 
			 1997–98 132 
			 1998–99 132 
			 1999–2000 135 
			 2000–01 142 
			 2001–02 144 
			 2002–03 173 
			 2003–04 187

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government has to change the level of planning delivery grant in the financial years following 2005–06; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: As announced in the Spending Review settlement, £255 million has been allocated to Planning Delivery Grant for 2006–7 and 2007–8.

Regional Assemblies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria he takes into account when determining whether or not an elected regional assembly would be appropriate for a region.

Nick Raynsford: The reasons why the Government proposed that some regions would proceed to a referendum on establishing an elected assembly were set out in my right hon.. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's statement to Parliament of 16 June 2003, Official Report, columns 21–23. The accompanying documentation— "Your Region, Your Say"—is available at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_regions/documents/page/odpm_regions_023485.hcsp
	Following the north east referendum, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister informed Parliament on 8 November 2004, Official Report, columns 587–89, that the Government would not be introducing the Regional Assemblies Bill and would not be proceeding with referendums in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West.

Regional Government Referendum

John Cryer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what guidance was issued to civil servants in his Department regarding their activities prior to and during the referendum on the North East Regional Assembly;
	(2)  what steps he took to ensure that information provided by his Department prior to the North East Regional Assembly referendum was politically neutral.

Nick Raynsford: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given in the other place by my right hon. Friend Lord Rooker on 2 December 2004, Official Report, House of Lords, column 17WA. The guidance is also available on the Cabinet Office website at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/publications/pdf/nerarg.pdf
	Information provided by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in respect of the North East Regional Assembly referendum was prepared in accordance with the requirements of Guidance on the Work of the Government Information and Communication Service. These requirements can be seen at: http://www. cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/civil_service/government_information_service/index.asp

Regional Spacial Strategy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the regional spatial strategies will be finalised for each region.

Keith Hill: Section 1 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 provides that for each of the regions outside London there should be a regional spatial strategy (RSS). On commencement of the Act the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister prescribed which regional planning guidance should become the RSS for each region. Thereafter, the Regional Planning Body (RPB) will prepare a draft revision of the RSS when it is necessary or expedient to do so. The timetable for finalising a draft revision is agreed between the Regional Planning Body and the Government Office. The latest estimated issue dates of the final RSS for revisions currently in process are tabled. It must be stressed that these are indicative dates only.
	
		
			   RSS Region Estimated publication date of RSS revision   Type of Review 
		
		
			 East of England December 2006 Full Review. 
			 East Midlands March 2005 Partial Review—Employment land, transport, retail hierarchy, waste, minerals, freight, environmental strategy for the northern coalfields, renewable energy, regional impacts of changes in information and communications technology. 
			 North East December 2006 Full Review 
			 South East Summer 2005 Partial Review—Waste & Minerals. 
			 South East Early 2007 Full Review. 
			 North West Autumn 2005 Partial Review—climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency, waste management, aggregate minerals, strategically and locally important views, regional park resources 
			 North West Spring 2007 Full Review. 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber Late 2006 Full Review. 
			 Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub- Regional Strategy March 2005 Sub regional detail on the nature, possible extent, and location of housing growth in the Milton Keynes South Midlands area.

Residential Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what methodology was used to calculate local authority residential rates in England prior to their abolition.

Nick Raynsford: Each unit of property was given a rateable value using a valuation, which for domestic property was usually based on rental evidence just prior to 1973 when the last revaluation on this basis was undertaken. Every year, district and London borough councils would make a general rate to meet the difference between the total of anticipated expenditure (including sums payable to other authorities by way of precepts) less any other income. The rate was expressed in pence per pound sterling. The rates payable were calculated by multiplying this poundage by the rateable value. Rates on domestic property were reduced by a domestic rate relief scheme and could be further reduced by national or local rate rebate schemes.

Right to Buy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the Right to Buy discounts and floors on take-up of the Right to Buy; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol and the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Birmingham, carried out a thorough assessment of the impact of the changes to Right to Buy discounts that took effect in February 1999. Copies were placed in the Libraries of both Houses in May 2003. The report is also available on the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/page/odpm_house_023293.hcsp
	In March 2003, the Government reduced the maximum Right to Buy discount available to tenants in 41 areas in London and the South of England that appeared to be under the greatest housing market pressure in terms of high levels of homelessness and high property prices. It is keeping under review the position on maximum discounts generally.

Shared Ownership Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what central Government funding has been provided to shared ownership schemes in England in each year since 1992.

Keith Hill: The information about what central Government funding has been provided to shared ownership schemes in England in each year since 1992 is being collated. I will write to the hon. Member with the relevant information and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House once the information is collated.

Shared Ownership Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes his Department has made to the provision of shared ownership schemes in England since May 1997.

Keith Hill: 30,000 shared ownership units were provided between 1997 and 2004, largely funded by the Housing Corporation through grants to registered social landlords.
	Since 1997 the Government has:
	from 1999, refocused the shared ownership programme on areas of greatest housing need in line with regional and local housing strategies and investment priorities;
	from 1999, replaced the Do-it-Yourself Shared ownership (DIYSO) model in the Housing Corporation's programme with the Homebuy equity loan scheme;
	from 2004, expanded shared ownership through the Key Worker Living Programme, with £72 million being spent on schemes in 2004–05;
	through the Housing Act 2004, provided for developers and others to receive grant from the Housing Corporation for the provision of affordable housing, including shared ownership properties, and enabled social landlords to include a right of first refusal in their leases when the shared owner wishes to sell;
	enabled improvements to shared ownership leases in 2004, following the recommendations of the Home Ownership Task Force, including allowing shared owners to staircase up to full ownership in smaller 10 per cent. tranches; and
	increased funding through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme from £106 million in 1997–98 to £227 million in 2003–04. The Spending Review 2004 funding, together with efficiency savings, will provide 40,000 homes for essential public sector workers and low cost home ownership (including shared ownership) over the three years to 2007–08;

South East England Development Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent by the South East England Development Agency on redeveloping the Ropetackle site in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex.

Keith Hill: To date the South East England Development Agency have spent £3,421,562 on land acquisition, substantial remediation, disturbance payments and professional fees.

South East England Development Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what arrangements are in place for a profit share between the South East England Development Agency and the developers Berkeley Group for the disposal proceeds of properties on the Ropetackle site in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex.

Keith Hill: The transaction with Berkeley Homes is on the basis of a 50:50 split of all land value coverage above a Guaranteed Minimum Land Value calculated on completion of the development.

South East England Development Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the anticipated net financial expenditure income is to the South East England Development Agency when all the disposals of properties on the Ropetackle site in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, have been completed.

Keith Hill: The anticipated net income from the development to South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is £1,733,123.

South East England Development Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the original budget for the development of the Ropetackle Site in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex was, when acquired by the South East England Development Agency.

Keith Hill: The original budget for the development of the Ropetackle site was £2,857,700.
	This has since increased to £3,421,562.
	The development of an enterprise gateway at Ropetackle is a subsequent separate project approved by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) at a cost of £2.86 million.

South East England Development Agency

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was paid by the South Eastern England Development Agency to (a) Adur council and (b) private landowners on acquisition of the Ropetackle site in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex; and what conditions were attached.

Keith Hill: The information is as follows:
	(a) A cash sum was paid to Adur DC on condition that the South Eastern England Development Agency (SEEDA) bore the substantial cost of remediating the contaminated Ropetackle site and, in addition, undertook, under a section 106 agreement, to provide a community/arts facility within the development, completed to shell finish and in a state for fitting out.
	(b) £301,000 has currently been paid to various third party land interests. Two of these are still subject to final compensation settlements which may be referred to the Lands Tribunal at a future date.

Telecommunication Masts

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will revise the information on telecommunication masts on his Department's website to take account of the advice of Sir William Stewart.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have welcomed the timely review undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board which was published on 11 January. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is studying the recommendations and will respond once we have considered them fully. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website will be updated as necessary in light of that response.

Telecommunication Masts

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on the siting of telecommunication masts, including those serving the emergency services; and what account this policy takes of the precautionary principle.

Yvette Cooper: Current planning guidance for all electronic communication developments, including those for the emergency services, is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 (revised) (PPG8). The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also issued a Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's policy is based on the precautionary approach to the siting of mobile phone base stations recommended by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones in 2000. This includes ensuring all base stations meet the international guidelines on public exposure set by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Telecommunication Masts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) single company use and (b) multiple company use mobile telephone masts have been erected.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold information requested centrally and this could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	However, figures provided to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by the Mobile Operators' Association record that as at 30 September 2004 the total number of ground-based masts in the UK was 19,624. 4,291 of those had one or more sharer present.

Use Classes Order

Alan Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans his Department has to introduce in England measures equivalent to the Use Classes Order in Northern Ireland.

Keith Hill: The Use Classes Order classifies dwelling houses as a C3 use class. This includes dwelling houses used by a single person, any number of persons living as a family, or by no more than six people living together as a single household. At present the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to amend the Use Classes Order in respect of the C3 class.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much her Department spent on (a) indoor bought plants, (b) indoor hired plants, (c) outdoor bought plants and (d) outdoor hired plants in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The available information on the costs of indoor and outdoor plants for the Cabinet Office is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2002–03 31,516 
			 2003–04 44, 901 
		
	
	These costs include the supply and maintenance of the plants.
	It is not possible to provide information for all of the Cabinet Office Estate for previous years as this is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what the cost of travel within the UK for the Cabinet Office was in each year since 1997; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence;
	(2)  how much the Department spent on first class travel in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The Department does not record expenditure on travel within its accounting system in the format requested. Therefore, this information can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
	For information on the overall cost of travel for the Cabinet Office since 1997, I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr. Lewis) today.
	All official travel in my Department is undertaken strictly in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office Management Code. All ministerial travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Duchy of Lancaster

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people are employed in the Duchy, broken down by grade; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Milburn: The Duchy of Lancaster is not a Government Department and as such does not have a grading system. The Duchy of Lancaster employs the following:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Head Office staff 8 
			 Survey staff 7 
			 Magistracy and Savoy Chapel 4 
		
	
	This is one extra from the information provided under Note 6b of the Parliamentary Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2004.

Electronic Devices

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many electronic devices are owned by the Department, broken down by type.

David Miliband: The information requested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

E-mail

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications issued by his Office and those public bodies reporting to him.

Alan Milburn: The Duchy of Lancaster office has no plans to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications as it has no public bodies reporting to it.

E-mail

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many e-mails have been permanently deleted by his Office in each month since July 2004.

David Miliband: It is not possible to determine the number of e-mails deleted by the Cabinet Office in each month since July 2004. Guidance issued from the Head of the Home Civil Service to all departments in July 2004 provided a clear cross-departmental approach to the handling of e-mail correspondence, and a copy is available in the Libraries of the House.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the property belonging to his Office that has been (a) stolen and (b) reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article.

David Miliband: There have been no recorded cases of stolen property in my Department since 1997.
	Details of lost property since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		Lost Property
		
			   £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 No cases — 
			 1998–99 IT equipment 10,633 
			 1999–2000 Audio visual equipment 1,385 
			  Communications equipment 370 
			  Stores items 200 
			 Total  1,955 
			
			 2000–01 Communications equipment 118 
			
			 2001–02 No cases — 
			 2002–03 Office machinery 4,700 
			  Communications equipment 139 
			 Total  4,839 
			
			 2003–04 Communications equipment 1,170

Temporary Civil Servants

Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his Department's policy is on the routing of telephone calls intended for temporary civil servants who have left government service.

David Miliband: holding answer 20 December 2004
	The Cabinet Office policy is not to route telephone calls intended for temporary civil servants who have left government service.

Travel Costs

Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total travel costs to her Department have been for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials for each year since 1997.

David Miliband: holding answer 9 December 2004
	Since 1999, the Government publishes, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. Details on the costs of Ministers' domestic travel are not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The travel costs for special advisers who accompany their Ministers overseas are included in the annual list on Overseas Travel by Cabinet Ministers. Other travel costs for special advisers are included in the overall spend on travel by the Cabinet Office, and are not separately identifiable.
	The overall amount spent on travel for the Cabinet Office from 1997 to date, is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 680, 730.61 
			 1998–99 1,346,791.19 
			 1999–2000 1,426,056.48 
			 2000–01 1,710,250.17 
			 2001–02 2,028,659.80 
			 2002–03 2,268,693.03 
			 2003–04 1,994,814.40 
		
	
	All official travel in the Department is undertaken strictly in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office Management Code. All ministerial travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House

Volunteering (Fiscal Incentives)

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the promotion of volunteering through the use of fiscal incentives for (a) individual volunteers and (b) employers.

Alan Milburn: The Government are keen to see people get more active in the community and this is why my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister issued a challenge in March 2000 to encourage employers and their employees to give time to voluntary and community activities.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Community Legal Service

Ross Cranston: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the amount spent on civil (non-criminal) law by the community legal service, as a percentage of the total expenditure on legal services in the UK economy.

David Lammy: During 2003–04 expenditure on the community legal service represented an estimated 4.7 per cent. of the legal services market in the UK during the same period.

Corporal Punishment

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether corporal punishment of children has been prohibited by legislation in each of the UK Crown dependencies (a) as a sentence of the courts and as a form of punishment in penal institutions for young offenders, (b) in schools, including private schools, (c) in other institutions and forms of care and (d) by parents in the home.

David Lammy: Corporal punishment of children may not be imposed by the courts and is prohibited either by legislation or as a matter of policy in penal and care institutions in all the Crown dependencies. The use of corporal punishment by parents in the home is similar to that in England and Wales, in that reasonable chastisement is permitted.
	In Jersey, the Education (Jersey) Law 1999 provides that the Education Committee may issue a statement of general principles and guidance. On 10 December 1986, the committee issued guidance that corporal punishment is not to be administered in schools and other institutions. The head teachers of all private schools are required to comply with the Education Committee's guidance as a condition of their registration or grant funding. Therefore all Jersey schools are obliged not to use corporal punishment.
	In Guernsey, by a Directive made under the Education (Guernsey) Law, 1970, corporal punishment is not permitted in schools controlled by the Education Department. Private schools in Guernsey are licensed and inspected by the Education Department. They have all discontinued the use of corporal punishment.
	In the Isle of Man, the Education Act 2001 (of Tynwald) provides that corporal punishment may not be imposed as penalty on a pupil for misbehaviour in a school provided or maintained by the Department of Education. The Department of Education does not have any power to prohibit corporal punishment in independent schools, however the one such school in the Isle of Man is a member of the Independent Schools Council which has banned the use of corporal punishment and hence it is not used on the island.

Freepost Election Mailings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total cost to public funds was of providing freepost mailings to candidates in the (a) 1997 general election, (b) 2001 general election and (c) 2004 European parliamentary elections.

Christopher Leslie: The cost to the Consolidated Fund of the delivery of candidates' election communications was as follows:
	
		
			  Cost to consolidated fund (£) 
		
		
			 (a) 1997 general election 20,775,582.64 
			 (b) 2001 general election 17,651,256.19 
			 (c) 2004 European parliamentary elections 25,896,235.82

Press Officers

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many press officers are employed in the Department.

David Lammy: At 1 April 2004, my Department employed 14 press officers.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has (a) been stolen and (b) been reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article;
	(2)  how many items of civil service property within his Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type.

David Lammy: The information requested is as in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Items stolen/lost by type of article 
		
		
			 1997–98  
			 Colour TV and file server 1 
			 Laptop 5 
			 PC mouse 2 
			 Pocket memo recorder 1 
			 TV/video 2 
			 Video recorder 3 
			   
			 1998–99  
			 Laptop 3 
			 Printer 1 
			 Printer cables 1 
			 Safe and laser printer 1 
			 Specialist phone 1 
			   
			 1999–2000  
			 Keyboard and Printer 1 
			 Laptop 1 
			 Mobile phone 1 
			 Payphone 1 
			 PC 2 
			   
			 2000–01  
			 Cashbox 1 
			 Laptop 1 
			 Mobile phone 2 
			 Tape recorder 1 
			 2001–02  
			 Conference Phone 1 
			 Laptop 12 
			 Machines 1 
			 Mobile 1 
			 PC 1 
			 Server 1 
			 Telephone 1 
			   
			 2002–03  
			 Laptop 1 
			 Lost mobile phone 1 
			 PC 2 
			 Stolen camera 1 
			 Stolen computer 1 
			 Stolen Epsom printer 1 
			 Theft of CCTV camera 1 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 PC 2 
			 Laptop 1 
			   
			 2004–05 (to date)  
			 Laptop 2

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Fraud

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of benefit fraud cases he estimates would be caught by the use of identity cards.

Chris Pond: I refer my right hon. Friend to the written answer I gave the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) on 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1723W.

Benefit Rates

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have been in hospital for more than a year live on the weekly benefit rate of £15.90; and what proportion suffer from mental ill-health.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. However, such information as is available is set out in the table:
	
		
			 Benefit type Number of people on adjusted personal benefit rate 
		
		
			 State pension and bereavement benefits (15)7,030 
			 Severe disablement allowance 8,000 
			 Income support 3,500 
			 Incapacity benefit 3,500 
		
	
	(15) This figure is an average of the September 2003 and March 2004 figures and includes approximately 2,100 recipients of pension credit.
	Notes:
	1. Figures for the number of people receiving state pension, in hospital over 52 weeks are from a 5 per cent. sample from the pensions strategy computer system at 30 September 2003 and 31 March 2004. pension credit figures are based on the proportion of the pensioner population who receive pension credit, as no data are currently available for those in hospital longer than one year.
	2. Disability living allowance and attendance allowance are not paid if the benefit recipient is in hospital over four weeks, so have not been included. The unemployment supplement in industrial injuries disablement benefit is downrated but there are few cases where this applies and no cases where hospital downrating has been recorded.
	3. The incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance admin data are from the Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance Quarterly Summary Statistics (four quarterly averages have been used) and the income support data are from the Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry.

Child Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of children in poverty have been lifted out of poverty in each of the last seven years, broken down by (a) constituency, (b) county and (c) region.

Chris Pond: Poverty is about more than low income; it also impacts on the way people live—their health, housing and the quality of their environment. The sixth annual "Opportunity for all" report (Cm 6239), published in September 2004, sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress against this strategy.
	Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2002–03". Data are not available below the regional level and are only available as proportions at the regional level. It should be noted that the reporting of year on year changes in the regional low-income rates are not reliable.
	"Measuring child poverty", published in December 2003, outlines the Government's measure of UK child poverty for the long-term. This new measure will begin from 2004–05.
	All publications listed are available in the Library.

Departmental Credit Cards

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many credit cards for official expenditure are held by his Department.

Maria Eagle: As of 21 December 2004, there are 184 credit cards in issue for official expenditure.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of travel within the UK for the Department was in each year since 1997; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the table. DWP was formed in June 2001 from Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment, including the Employment Service. Information for the period prior to June 2001 refers to the former DSS.
	
		£
		
			  Hire cars Hotel accommodation Subsistence 
		
		
			 1997–1998 869,206 — 9,494,120 
			 1998–1999 1,231,625 — 10,325,573 
			 1999–2000 1,265,559 — 10,629,555 
			 2000–2001 1,670,054 — 16,364,631 
			 2001–2002 1,977,780 11,823,786 6,537,830 
			 2002–2003 1,820,212 12,945,939 4,447,904 
			 2003–2004 2,006,136 13,230,046 4,141,234 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information provided includes travel costs for both Ministers and civil servants
	2. Separate information for hotel accommodation and subsistence costs is only available from 2001–2002. For previous years, hotel accommodation costs are included within subsistence costs.
	3. There were no costs for helicopter hire.
	4. All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Department spent on first-class travel in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table.
	
		Cost of first-class travel
		
			  Number of journeys Cost (£) 
		
		
			 2002–03 51,564 8,315,975 
			 2003–04 45,289 7,082,711 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information provided includes travel by both Ministers and civil servants.
	2. Information is not available for the period prior to 2002–03.
	3. The figures refer to first class rail travel in the UK and abroad. No first-class air journeys were made.
	4. All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code.
	5. Information relating to overseas travel by Ministers is published on an annual basis. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2004 is in the Library. Information on the financial year 2004–05 will be published as soon as possible at the end of the current financial year.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, have been made by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.

Maria Eagle: The available information is in the tables.
	
		Overseas Travel for 2002–2003 -- £
		
			  Journeys/nights Cost 
		
		
			 Overseas air travel 736 600,572 
			 Overseas hotels 415 46,566 
			 Overseas rail travel 430 43,676 
			 Ferry travel 79 6,385 
			 Overseas Travel for 2003–04 
			 Overseas air travel 974 637,383 
			 Overseas hotels 554 53,274 
			 Overseas rail travel 625 57,061 
			 Ferry travel 272 26,105 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The information provided includes travel by both Ministers and civil servants.
	2. Information is not available for the period prior to 2002–03 or for individual journeys.
	3. All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code.
	4. Information relating to overseas travel by Ministers is published on an annual basis. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2004 is in the Library. Information on the financial year 2004–05 will be published as soon as possible at the end of the current financial year.

Disability Discrimination Act

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what plans there are to regulate compliance with the obligations of part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of disabled people's access to goods, services and facilities as a result of the introduction of part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 from 1 October 2004.

Maria Eagle: We have no plans to regulate compliance with the duties under part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 beyond the enforcement provisions which are already in place in section 25 of the Act. A disabled person who believes that he or she has been unlawfully discriminated against in access to goods, facilities, services and premises may take civil proceedings against the service provider or the person responsible for the selling, letting or managing of premises.
	Before considering civil proceedings, the disabled person may raise a complaint directly with the service provider, or the person responsible for the disposal of premises, to see whether the issue can be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. The disabled person may also wish to seek advice from the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) which has established an independent conciliation service for disputes arising under part 3 of the DDA, with a view to promoting the settlement of disputes without recourse to civil proceedings. The DRC also has statutory duties to monitor and keep under review the implementation and enforcement of the DDA, and to advise the Government on the operation of the Act.
	No assessment has yet been made since 1 October 2004 of the impact of the new duties requiring service providers to tackle physical barriers that prevent disabled people accessing their goods, services and facilities. However, the Government have a programme of research to monitor how those with responsibilities under the DDA are responding to those duties. Research conducted in 2003 and published in 2004 (DWP Research Report 202, Disability in the Workplace: Employers' and Service Providers' Responses to the Disability Discrimination Act in 2003 and Preparation for 2004 Changes) showed that 56 per cent. of the service providers surveyed had changes to physical access in place or planned. Future research will include further assessments of the adjustments made to improve access for disabled people to goods, services and facilities.

Disability Living Allowance

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to (a) introduce a winter heating allowance for claimants in receipt of disability living allowance and (b) introduce free TV licences for claimants in receipt of disability living allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: There are no plans to extend the winter fuel payment to people under age 60 in receipt of disability living allowance. Nor has the Government plans at present to extend the availability of free television licences but is considering all aspects of BBC funding, including concessions, as part of the BBC Charter review process.

National Insurance

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with a full employment record have been disallowed (a) sickness benefits, (b) incapacity benefits, (c) jobseeker's allowance and (d) income support supplementary benefit because they did not have adequate NI contributions over the last three years.

Maria Eagle: Incapacity benefit and contribution based jobseeker's allowance are the only working age benefits dependent on national insurance contributions.
	Contribution based benefits are intended to help those who experience periods of unemployment or sickness between jobs. Entitlement to these benefits relies upon a claimant having sufficient national insurance contributions in the two most recent tax years for which records are available. This rule reinforces the link with the labour market and strikes the right balance between ensuring people do not need a long work history to be entitled, while denying access for those who have not been in the labour market for a number of years.
	Information regarding the previous employment record of claimants that failed the contribution condition is available only at disproportionate cost.

National Insurance Rebates

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason rates of age-related national insurance rebates for members of appropriate personal pensions have been reduced since 2002–03.

Malcolm Wicks: There has been no such reduction. The rates set for the period 2002–03 to 2006–07 constitute an increase in the overall cost of the rebate for all forms of contracting out of around £11 billion over the preceding five year period.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what calculations his Department has made concerning at what age (a) a man and (b) a woman with (i) half average earnings and (ii) average earnings, with a stakeholder pension with charges of 1 per cent. of premiums which tracks movements in the stock market, should contract in to the state second pension if he makes assumptions about his life expectancy, stock market growth and other economic variables in line with those made by the Government Actuary's Department.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 13 January 2005
	It is for individuals to decide the point at which it would be in their best interest to contract back in taking into account their attitude to risk and their personal circumstances. The Department is however committed to ensuring that people are properly informed of the issues involved so that they can make a decision that best suits their needs. This includes the fact that when people reach the age at which the age-related rebate is capped, currently age 53, most of them would be better off contracting back in.

Post Office Card Account

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what limitation his Department places on the amount of pension or benefit that an individual can withdraw from a Post Office card account.

Chris Pond: The Department places no limitation on the amount of pension or benefit that an individual can withdraw from a Post Office card account. However, the Post Office card account has a daily limit on withdrawals of £600 unless three days notice is given. This is explained to customers in the terms and conditions when they apply to open an account.

Press Officers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many press officers are employed in the Department.

Maria Eagle: As at Friday 17 December 2004 were 15 National Press officers (Whole Time Equivalents), and 24 Regional Press Officers employed by the Department.

Stolen Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many civil servants from his Department have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: No information is held on Department of Work and Pensions staff who have been charged with theft.
	The available information on staff who have faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of staff who have faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft Number of staff who have been dismissed following theft allegations 
		
		
			 January 2003 to  January 2004 3 2 
			 January 2004 to  September 2004 2 2 
		
	
	All DWP staff are subject to the Department's Standards of Behaviour statement which is based on the Civil Service Code. This is available and publicised on the DWP intranet site.
	All forms of misconduct are dealt with under the Department's disciplinary policy and procedures. The Department's disciplinary policy includes, under gross misconduct:
	bribery, theft or fraud at work, and
	theft or attempted theft of official property or money.
	If anyone in the Department is charged with or convicted of a criminal offence they are required to inform their manager straight away.
	Any behaviour likely to discredit the individual or the business, for example the conviction for certain criminal offences is classed as serious or gross misconduct.
	When an offence comes to light consideration is given to establish whether restriction of duties, transfer or suspension from duty is appropriate and what disciplinary action is required. Failure to report a criminal caution can of itself be treated as a disciplinary offence.

Telephone Numbers

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much revenue his Department has received from the use of non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers for the period 1 October 2003 to 30 September.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 20 December 2004
	The Whistleblowers Hotline is a confidential service available to Department for Work and Pensions staff and is the only 0870 number in use.
	The amount of revenue the Department for Work and Pensions has received for the use of non-geographic 0870 telephone numbers for the period 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004 is £15.44 as a result of 59 calls.
	This amount is offset against the amount that is paid for the provision of this line.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Child Support Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the number of deduction from earnings orders issued by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency in respect of new scheme cases in (a) 2003–04 and (b) the current year.

John Spellar: There were 280 deduction from earnings orders in place in 2003–04, while in 2004–05 to date there are 642.

Child Support Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress made by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency towards its milestone target of securing a 50 per cent. increase in the number of children receiving child maintenance by March.

John Spellar: The most recent figures available at 30 November 2004 showed a 32.4 per cent. increase in the number of children receiving child maintenance.

Child Support Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been categorised by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency as probably uncollectable in (a) each financial year from 2000–01 to date and (b) in total over that period.

John Spellar: The amount of money that has been categorised by the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency as probably uncollectable in each financial year from 2000–01 to 2003–04, and in total over that period is as follows:
	
		
			  Amount of money categorised as probably uncollectible (£) 
		
		
			 2000–01 3,792,000 
			 2001–02 2,083,000 
			 2002–03 3,262,000 
			 2003–04 1,177,000 
			 Total 10,315,000

Further Education Colleges

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the report of the study carried out by BDO Stoy Hayward on the restructuring of further education colleges in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Department for Employment and Learning published its proposals for the future of Further Education in Northern Ireland in March 2004. Consultation on those proposals was completed in June 2004. In taking forward the proposals, and having regard to the responses received during the period of consultation, the Department has commissioned further work on those aspects of the proposals that relate to the future size and structure of the FE sector. The outcome of this further work will be presented to a steering group comprised of representatives of Further Education colleges, as well as officials from the Department itself. It is not intended to publish the outcome of this work; however any conclusions drawn from it will inform an implementation plan that will be published later in the year.

Government Expenditure

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total Government expenditure in the Province was in each of the last 20 years.

Ian Pearson: Details of Government Expenditure in Northern Ireland can be found in the "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses" (PESA) document, published by HM Treasury on an annual basis. Copies are available in the Library.

Health Services

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to ensure homeless people have equitable access to health services in the Province.

Angela Smith: While health services in the Province are available to everybody, homeless people often have difficulties in accessing services. In recognition of this, a number of Health and Social Services Trusts, with various partners, have established outreach projects to target need in those areas with a high prevalence of homelessness.
	The Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety is represented on an interdepartmental and cross-sector Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) Working Group on Homelessness. Access to health services for the homeless was looked at under the remit of this group and a number of Proposals were included in the resulting report. The report is currently the subject of a consultation exercise, and will be published thereafter.

Housing Executive

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of offers made by the Housing Executive under the House Sales Scheme were issued within 10 weeks of application during 2003–04.

John Spellar: During the 2003–04 financial year 68 per cent. of offers (3,518) were issued within 10 weeks of the application being made. In total 5,209 offers were made in that year.

Housing Executive

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was owed in rent arrears to the Housing Executive on 31 March 2004.

John Spellar: At year ended 31 March 2004 collectable rental income 1 was £265.5 million and gross arrears 2 were £19.1 million.
	1 Collectable Rent includes rents of dwellings and garages and district heating charges.
	2 Gross arrears include overpayment of housing benefit arising from tenants failing to correctly advise of their financial circumstances and is a rolling figure which includes unrecovered arrears from previous years.

Housing Executive

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many grants the Housing Executive approved in 2003–04 for the repairs of homes in the private sector; what the total value was of those grants; and what the target is for such grants in 2004–05.

John Spellar: During the 2003–04 financial year the Housing Executive approved 9,600 grants at a total value of just under £42.6 million. The target for the 2004–05 financial year is 5,945 with an estimated total value of just under £40.5 million.

Housing Executive

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many homes the Housing Executive started planned maintenance work in 2003–04; and what its target is for such starts in 2004–05.

John Spellar: The Housing Executive's planned maintenance work covers a variety of programmes and the number of homes addressed in 2003–04 and target for 2004- 05 in each category is as follows:
	
		
			  2003–04 Target for 2004–05 
			  Schemes Properties Schemes Properties 
		
		
			 External cyclic maintenance 82 16,207 44 8,000 
			 Heating replacement 34 3,845 48 4,120 
			 Bathroom/kitchen replacement 20 1,170 29 1,500 
			 Smoke alarm installation 9 3,319 6 4,100 
			 Total 145 24,541 127 17,720

Housing Executive

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many improvement schemes the Housing Executive began in 2003–04; and what its target is for such starts in 2004–05.

John Spellar: The Housing Executive's improvement schemes cover a variety of programmes and the number of homes addressed in 2003–04 and target for 2004–05 in each category is as follows:
	
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 
			  Schemes Homes Schemes Homes 
		
		
			 Health and safety 2 382 2 164 
			 Multi element improvement 45 1,584 35 1,450 
			 Single element improvement 17 573 — — 
			 Special schemes 7 46 4 120 
			 Total 71 2,585 41 1,734

Housing Executive

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent in the (a) Coleraine and (b) Limavady borough council areas on structural maintenance by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in 2004.

John Spellar: In the 2004 calendar year the amount spent on structural maintenance to Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties in the Coleraine and Limavady borough council areas was as follows:
	
		£
		
			  External cyclic maintenance schemes Multi element improvement schemes 
		
		
			 Coleraine district 1,059,396 1,805,595 
			 Limavady district 577,492 1,137,693

Odyssey Complex (Belfast)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the arrangements are for policing the area around the Odyssey complex in Belfast; whether different arrangements are made at weekends; what plans he has to make more resources available for policing in this area; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Odyssey Complex has developed into a major entertainment and event centre, attracting over four million people annually throughout Northern Ireland including visitors from abroad. The PSNI have a statutory duty to police the area and ensure public safety, including the many families and young people who frequent the complex and surrounding area. In order to achieve this, East Belfast PSNI works in partnership with the management and security staff at the Odyssey, the Laganside Corporation, Belfast City Council and Translink.
	In order to combat public disorder, assaults and crime, East Belfast District PSNI implements Operation Safenight every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights between the hours of 7pm and 3am. Operation Safenight is focused not only on the Odyssey complex but also the Short Strand community interface and surrounding Laganside area. This operation is resourced with 1 Sergeant and 4 Constables for East Belfast DCU supported by 2–3 Regional Tactical Support Group (TSG) vehicles when available. If TSG resources are unavailable, then other East Belfast anti-crime patrols would deploy in support of the Operation Safenight personnel, where necessary.
	During the rest of the week the Odyssey area would be policed in the same manner as the rest of the East Belfast District.
	The PSNI continue to review the deployment of police resources commensurate with other policing priorities in the East Belfast area.

Policing

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the recent Police Service of Northern Ireland review of the retirement age of part-time reserve officers.

Ian Pearson: I have been informed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that it has not conducted a review of the age retirement of part-time reserve officers. In accordance with the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve (Part-Time) Regulations 2004, part-time reserve members appointed after 8 February 2004 (the date on which the regulations came into force) shall be retired at age 65. These regulations also contain transitional arrangements for existing part-time reserve members.
	These transitional arrangements will allow existing PTR members to move to the new PTR arrangements, subject to receiving appropriate training. I have been informed that the PSNI has written to existing PTR officers who would be or have been subject to possible retirement at age 62 to advise them accordingly.

Policing

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average number of hours worked by part-time reserve police officers was during 2004, broken down by district command unit area.

Ian Pearson: The information requested is set out in the following table which has been provided by the PSNI.
	
		Average number of hours worked by part-time police officers between 1 December 2003 and 30 November 2004
		
			 DCU Total hours Number of part-time reserve officers Yearly average Monthly average 
		
		
			 Belfast South 13,521.25 55 245.84 20.49 
			 Lisburn 20,370.75 58 351.22 29.27 
			 Belfast North 15,080.50 67 225.08 18.76 
			 Antrim 4,844.75 18 269.15 22.43 
			 Carrickfergus 7,918.25 30 263.94 22.00 
			 Newtownabbey 13,957.00 51 273.67 22.81 
			 Belfast East 14,874.00 66 225.36 18.78 
			 Castlereagh 6,058.25 42 144.24 12.02 
			 North Down 10,237.50 40 255.94 21.33 
			 Ards 17,831.50 69 258.43 21.54 
			 Down 8,362.75 22 380.13 31.68 
			 Armagh 4,804.50 16 300.28 25.02 
			 Banbridge 9,158.00 29 315.79 26.32 
			 Newry and Mourne 747.00 3 249.00 20.75 
			 Craigavon 8,145.25 29 280.87 23.41 
			 Cookstown 730.25 4 182.56 15.21 
			 Dungannon and South  Tyrone 2,736.50 10 273.65 22.80 
			 Fermanagh 7,907.50 24 329.48 27.46 
			 Omagh 5,529.75 20 276.49 23.04 
			 Foyle 1,418.25 8 177.28 14.77 
			 Strabane 4,368.00 16 273.00 22.75 
			 Coleraine 15,040.75 37 406.51 33.88 
			 Limavady 1,183.00 5 236.60 19.72 
			 Magherafelt 814.00 4 203.50 16.96 
			 Ballymena 10,083.50 34 296.57 24.71 
			 Ballymoney and Moyle 2,087.75 8 260.97 21.75 
			 Larne 5,679.75 19 298.93 24.91

Roads

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent in the (a) Coleraine and (b) Limavady borough council areas on minor roads improvements by the roads service in 2004.

John Spellar: The chief executive of roads service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Mr. Gregory Campbell, dated 17 January 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about expenditure on minor road improvements in the Coleraine and Limavady Borough Council area in 2004, I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	The table below shows the expenditure incurred by Roads Service on minor road improvement schemes in these Council areas during 2004.
	
		Spend on Minor Road Works
		
			 Period Council area Spend(16) (£) 
		
		
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 Coleraine borough 900,000 
			 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 Limavady borough 300,000 
		
	
	(16) Figures provided have been rounded to the nearest £100,000
	Please note that these figures include spend on minor road works, collision remedial schemes, traffic calming, transportation measures and minor bridge strengthening.
	For your additional information, I would advise that the resources available for minor capital schemes are allocated to roads service's four divisions which, in turn, apportion this across district council areas on a needs-based priority approach using indicators such as population, weighted road lengths and the number of accidents. This ensures, so far as possible, an equitable distribution of funds across the country.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days on average were taken by the Social Security Agency in (a) 2003–04 and (b) the current financial year to date to process a new claim for pension credit; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: In 2003–04 the average time taken to clear a pension credit application was 53 days. In the current financial year to December 2004 the average time taken to clear an application has been 25.9 days.
	Performance against the average clearance time (target is 12 days) has been hindered because of a backlog of claims. A recovery plan has been in place since September 2004 and the backlog should be cleared within the next two months. Claims received since September 2004 are now being processed within the 12 day target.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for pension credit are outstanding with the Social Security Agency; what is the date of the earliest outstanding application; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: From a backlog of over 6,500 in August 2004 there are currently 621 pension credit applications outstanding. The majority of these require further information to be provided to enable the claim to be fully assessed. The earliest outstanding application is September 2003.
	Apart from those cases in the backlog, there are a further 1,100 pension credit current applications dating from November 2004 at various stages in the assessment process. These cases are also awaiting further information before the claims can be finalised.
	In overall terms the numbers of cases still to be assessed has reduced substantially over the past five months and as the backlog cases are cleared over the next month or two, resources will be redeployed to keep the current clearance times in line with the 12 day target.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of pensioners eligible for pension credit in Northern Ireland who have applied for pension credit.

John Spellar: No estimate has been made of numbers of pensioners who might be entitled to state pension credit. However, since the introduction of state pension credit in October 2003, 22,500 pension credit applications have been received in the Social Security Agency. 15,000 cases have been successful.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland who receive (a) the state retirement pension, (b) state pension credit and (c) disability living allowance in cash at post offices (i) have said that they wish their payments made into a bank or post office account after 1 April, (ii) have said that they do not wish payments made into an account and (iii) have not responded to the Social Security Agency's inquiries.

John Spellar: As a result of a major exercise to move customers to direct payment, the latest available figures show that, at 1 December 2004, 81 per cent. of retirement pension and 76 per cent. of pension credit customers (equating to 192,000 and 68,000 customers respectively) now have their payments made into a bank, building society or Post Office card account.
	During the conversion exercise 6,000 pension customers indicated that they did not wish to convert to direct payment, while 20,000 failed to respond to our inquiries.
	As at 1 December 2004, 74 per cent. of disability living allowance customers (equating to 121,000 customers) now have their payments made into a bank, building society or Post Office card account.
	During the conversion exercise 4,000 DLA customers indicated that they did not wish to convert to Direct Payment, while 21,000 failed to respond to our inquiries.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of Social Security Agency customers have their benefits paid directly into bank or Post Office accounts.

John Spellar: The latest available figures show that, at 1 December 2004, 78 per cent. of Social Security Agency customers were being paid by direct payment. This comprised of 51 per cent. being paid via a bank or building society account and 27 per cent. via a Post Office card account.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many exception reports have been submitted in the current financial year to the Chief Executive of the Social Security Agency to indicate areas of the agency's business where an assurance that proper controls exist cannot be given; which areas of the agency's businesses are now subject to exception reports; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: Under the Social Security Agency's Certificate of Assurance reporting process there have been seven exception reports in the current financial year covering 35 areas where there has been slippage against performance targets or operational concerns. The majority of exception reports received have been in relation to delays in completion of internal performance management processes and these will be remedied before the year end. One exception report was received indicating slippage against the Public Service Agreement target in relation to overpayment recovery. All exception reports indicate the recovery action to be taken and revised targets where appropriate.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the levels of (a) fraud and (b) incorrectness were in each social security benefit for which the Social Security Agency is responsible, and in total in each financial year from 2000–01 to date; in (i) monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total expenditure on each benefit programme in each year.

John Spellar: The Government are totally committed to a robust approach to tackling fraud and error and abuse of the social security system wherever it occurs.
	The Social Security Agency has a comprehensive and rigorous strategy for combating fraud designed to ensure that:
	claims entering the system are legitimate;
	once in the system claims are maintained properly; and
	where fraud does enter the system it is detected and appropriate action is taken.
	In the three-year period from April 2001 to March 2004, 40,000 cases of suspected fraud were investigated. Of these cases, over 16,000 resulted in withdrawal of claims or changes in the rate of benefit paid totalling £9.8 million.
	The agency does not measure levels of fraud and error in every benefit, instead we focus on those benefits where the risk is greater.
	The requested figures for the main benefits are detailed in the following tables.
	
		
			 Fraud 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Income support   
			 Percentage 2.0 2.0 0.9 1.9 
			 £ 12,037,268 13,377,786 5,867,594 9,260,275 
			 Jobseeker's allowance   
			 Percentage 5.1 6.6 7.6 6.4 
			 £ 6,714,226 7,602,967 7,805,050 6,355,232 
			 Disability living allowance(17)  
			 Percentage — 0.3 — N/A 
			 £ — 1,350,288 — — 
			 Incapacity benefit(17)  
			 Percentage 1.0 — 0.3 — 
			 £ 3,089,000 — 1,067,712 — 
			 Carers allowance(18)  
			 Percentage — — — 4.5 
			 £ — — — 3,780,000 
			 Attendance allowanceMinimalMinimalMinimal Minimal 
			 Retirement pensionMinimalMinimalMinimal Minimal 
		
	
	
		
			 Overall incorrectness (including fraud) 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Income support  
			 Percentage 4.8 4.4 4.4 5.1 
			 £ 29,107,796 29,329,733 30,290,747 25,129,827 
			 Jobseeker's allowance  
			 Percentage 6.2 7.3 9.0 8.0 
			 £ 8,092,298 8,299,679 9,210,085 7,967,774 
			 Disability living allowance(17)  
			 Percentage — 9.3 — N/A 
			 £ — 41,734,065 — — 
			 Incapacity benefit1  
			 Percentage 2.9 — 2.2 — 
			 £ 9,100,791 — 7,131,418 — 
			 Carers allowance2  
			 Percentage — — — 6.7 
			 £ — — — 5,630,000 
			 Attendance allowance  
			 Percentage — — 4.9 2.0 
			 £ — — 8,700,000 3,600,000 
			 Retirement pension  
			 Percentage — — 4.0 0.9 
			 £ — — 42,500,000 10,500,000 
		
	
	(17) Disability living allowance and incapacity benefit levels are measured every two years.
	(18) nly one Benefit Review has been carried out on carers allowance.

Social Security Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library copies of the monthly reports to the Social Security Agency management board on the agency's performance in meeting its programme protection plans for 2004–05.

John Spellar: Information on the Social Security Agency's performance against its programme protection plans is presented to the agency's management board on a quarterly basis. I will arrange for copies of the quarterly reports for 2004–05 and for future reports to be placed in the Library.

Tourism and Leisure Industry

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to address the skills shortages in the Greater Belfast area for graduates in the hospitality, tourism and leisure industry.

Barry Gardiner: The Tourism Training Trust (TTT) is funded by the Department to provide a wide range of initiatives for those wishing to enter the local hospitality and tourism industry including graduate entry. The TTT works closely with the People 1st Sector Skills Council and its immediate priority is to agree with the industry action to address skills shortages and raise skill levels. The Trust has not reported any specific shortages in respect of graduates entering the sector.
	The School of Hotel, Leisure and Tourism at the University of Ulster offers a full range of vocational courses in the areas of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Culinary Arts, Consumer Studies and Leisure Events and Cultural Management. The university has a medium term target of up to 700 relevant full time undergraduate student places. In addition, Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education provides a Foundation Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management validated by the University of Ulster.

Tourism and Leisure Industry

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the first year student intake was to (a) the catering college and (b) the University of Ulster's Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure at Londonderry and Jordanstown (i) in 2001 and (ii) since the merger transferring all student intake to Portrush; and what the intake was in (A) 2002, (B) 2003 and (C) 2004, broken down by (1) type of degree and (2) courses of study.

Barry Gardiner: The first year student intake on HE courses to the NI Hotel and Catering College (NIHCC) in 2001–02 by level of course and subject area of study was as follows:
	
		First year enrolments on higher education courses at NIHCC: 2001–02
		
			 Course subject area HNC HND NVQ (equivalent) 4 and 5 Total 
		
		
			 Administration and Office Skills 0 10 0 10 
			 Hospitality 6 26 40 72 
			 Leisure Tourism and Recreation 0 31 31 62 
			 Total — — — 144 
		
	
	Source:
	FESR
	The first year student intake on hospitality, tourism and leisure courses at the University of Ulster in 2001–02 by campus, type of degree and course subject area was as follows:
	
		First year enrolments on hospitality, tourism and leisure courses at the University of Ulster: 2001–02
		
			 Campus Course subject area First Degree Postgraduate Total 
		
		
			 Coleraine  0 0 0 
			 Jordanstown Catering and Institutional Management 75 2 77 
			 Magee Catering and Institutional Management 24 6 30 
			 Total  — — 107 
		
	
	Source:
	HESA
	Following the merger of the NIHCC with the University of Ulster, the first year student intake on hospitality, tourism and leisure courses at the University of Ulster in 2002–03 by campus, type of degree and course subject area was as follows.
	
		First year enrolments on hospitality, tourism and leisure courses at the University of Ulster: 2002–03
		
			  Course subject area Foundation degrees First degree Total 
		
		
			 Coleraine Management studies 19 55 74 
			  Tourism, Transport and Travel 27 45 72 
			 Jordanstown Management studies 0 21 21 
			  Tourism, Transport and Travel 0 6 6 
			 Magee Management studies 0 1 1 
			  Tourism, Transport and Travel 0 7 7 
			 Total  46 135 181 
		
	
	Source:
	HESA
	Information on the first year student intake on hospitality, tourism and catering courses at the University of Ulster in 2003–04 will not be published by the Department until February 2005 and the 2004–05 student intake will not be published until February 2006.

Tourism Training Trust

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was made available in the current financial year to the Tourism Training Trust; what its budget for the year is; and what estimate he has made of (a) funding and (b) the budget in future years.

Barry Gardiner: The funding made available to the Tourism Training Trust (TTT) in the year to date is £100,692. Its budget for 2004–05 is £195,584. The future funding and budget of TTT are not yet decided and will be based on the business plan to be submitted by TTT for agreement by the Department.

Water and Sewerage Charges

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what analysis he has made of the costs and benefits of extending water metering to (a) hospitals, (b) schools and (c) Government offices in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: It has always been the policy to meter water supplies to properties that are not used exclusively for domestic purposes and this will continue to be the preferred basis for charging this customer group. Hospitals, schools and Government offices are currently metered and these account for around 2,700 of the 74,000 non-domestic meters.

Water and Sewerage Charges

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the projected cost is of bringing all Water Service mains and treatment plants up to EC Water Directive standards.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 17 January 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question (No. 208373) about the projected costs of bringing all Water Service mains and treatment plants up to EC Water Directive standards. I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Investment levels in upgrading the water and sewerage infrastructure in Northern Ireland have lagged behind those in the rest of the UK for many years. As a result, compliance with EC Directives has been significantly lower in Northern Ireland particularly on wastewater treatment. It is estimated that substantial capital investment, projected at £2.9 billion over the next 20 years, needs to be invested to modernise the existing infrastructure. Over one-quarter of this total is directly attributable to meeting the quality standards required by EC Directives. The remaining investment is required to cater for growth in the demand for water and sewerage services, to improve levels of customer service and to renew the existing watermains, sewers and other parts of the infrastructure. All of this investment must of course comply with the relevant standards including quality.
	Priority is at present being given to upgrading water and wastewater treatment works. This accounts for some £1 billion of the total investment required and of this approximately one-third is for water treatment while two-thirds is for wastewater treatment. Refurbishment of watermains and sewer networks accounts for the remaining £1.9 billion and will take longer to complete. It is planned to accelerate spending on network refurbishment to around £100 million per year within the next few years, as the treatment works upgrading programme nears completion.

Water and Sewerage Charges

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Water Service's future work plan is for fixing burst water mains in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 14 January 2004
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question (No. 208374) about Water Service's future work plan with regard to fixing all burst water mains in Northern Ireland. I have been asked to reply as the issue falls to my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Water Service aims to provide continuous supplies of safe drinking water to all customers connected to the water distribution system and to ensure that interruptions to supply, whether due to an emergency or planned maintenance work, are dealt with efficiently and without unnecessary delay. Water Service's Customer Charter sets out the standards it aims to achieve in the delivery of these services. These standards include:
	having inspection staff on site within four hours (six hours outside normal working hours) when an unexpected problem disrupts the water supply;
	restoring water supplies cut off in an emergency within 12 hours;
	restoring water supplies cut off for planned work by the time stated in the notice, which will normally be within 12 hours;
	making alternative water supplies available if any interruption is expected to last more than 24 hours.
	Water Service also has a well developed Major Incident Plan to manage major incidents and to mitigate the effect on customer supplies.
	Customers can report interruptions in supply or leaks in the distribution system to the Water Service Customer Service Unit by telephoning the Waterline (08457 440088) or the Leakline (08000 282011) during normal working hours. An out-of-hours emergency service is also available by contacting the Waterline. In addition, Water Service has Telemetry Units, which are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to monitor the working of the water and sewerage systems. Operational repair teams, consisting of around 300 staff from both Water Service and contractors, can be deployed to respond to operational incidents throughout the day and night. During 2004, Water Service repaired over 6,000 bursts and leaks on the water distribution system and it is anticipated that a similar number will be repaired in 2005.
	Effective leakage management is a key component in the delivery of Water Service's second Water Efficiency Plan, which was published last year. Water Service is currently implementing a comprehensive leakage reduction programme, costing over £20 million in the three-year period, to reduce leakage to the economic level of 172 million litres per day by 2007.

Water and Sewerage Charges

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Water Service reduces water pressure in an effort to reduce water wasted through burst water mains.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Mr. Eddie McGrady, dated 14 January 2004
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question (No. 208375) about the management of water pressure to reduce the amount of water wasted through bursts in water mains. I have been asked to reply as this issue falls to my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Water Service's second Water Efficiency Plan, which was published on 12 January 2004, set out a wide range of measures aimed at reducing demand for water, including effective leakage management and the raising of awareness of water efficiency measures. A significant programme of leakage reduction is a major component of the Plan and Water Service is currently implementing a comprehensive Leakage Reduction Action Plan aimed at reducing leakage to the economic level by 2007. It is widely recognised throughout the water industry that excessive water pressure within the distribution system contributes to leaks, and the design and implementation of an effective pressure management scheme is, therefore, one of the main elements of the Action Plan.
	Water Service is committed to extending pressure management to 30 new areas each year. In the current year this total has already been bettered and pressure management has been extended to over 50 new areas. Pressure management schemes have targeted areas where pressure, particularly at night, is excessive. The schemes are carefully designed to ensure that an adequate level of pressure is maintained to customers at all times.
	The implementation of the Leakage Reduction Action Plan has enabled Water Service to reduce leakage from 291 million litres to 231 million litres in the period from April 2002 to March 2004. Water Service is on target to reduce leakage to 205 million litres per day by March 2005 and to achieve the economic level of leakage of 172 million litres per day by 2007.

HEALTH

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what dietary supplements are recommended for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 10 January 2005
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance on the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with Methylphenidate in October 2000. It made no recommendations about dietary supplementation. However, it did note that "Dietary interventions are seen as possibly useful in cases where a parent has observed that a particular food aggravates hyperactivity".
	This guidance is currently under review by NICE and the development of a guideline that will address the effectiveness of a broader range of interventions has also been agreed by NICE. The scope of this guideline has yet to be determined.

Autism

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into the benefits of early intervention for children with autism; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The MRC is currently not funding any intervention studies in autism. The subject has however been identified as a priority by the council, and workshops held in order to encourage applications for grant support from researchers in the area have generated a number of applications which are presently under consideration.

Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients at Barnet and Chase Farm NHS trust are waiting for (a) ophthalmology and (b) cardiothoracic elective surgery; what the average waiting time is in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Barnet and Chase Farm national health service trust does not provide services in either of the specialties mentioned.

Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients from Barnet and Chase Farm NHS trust had treatment outside London in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Information is collected on the number of patients treated outside of their primary care trust (PCT) of residence. Information on the number of patients from Barnet PCT who received national health service treatment outside London is shown in the following table.
	
		PCT of residence: 5A9 Barnet PCT—count of finished admission episodes(19) in strategic health authorities outside London—NHS hospitals, England 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–2004
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 2001–02 1,325 
			 2002–03 1,210 
			 2003–04 1,293 
		
	
	(19) Finished admission episodes—A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health.

Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients at (a) Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust, (b) the Royal Free Hospital and (c) Northwick Park Hospital had operations cancelled at the last minute in each of the last three years.

Stephen Ladyman: Please note that data is available only at trust level rather than hospital level. Therefore, the figures for Northwick Park Hospital are included in the figures for North West London.
	The number of patients who have had last minute cancellations for a non clinical reason are shown in the table.
	
		Number of last minute cancellations for non-clinical reasons
		
			 Trust 2003–04 2002–03 2001–02 
		
		
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 404 1,346 1,206 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 285 341 148 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 433 617 499 
		
	
	The data source is the Department's dataset quarterly monitoring of cancelled operations. I have not provided any data for 2004–05 as only part year data are available.

Care Standards

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that persons applying for approval under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 to different offices of the Care Standards Commission are only required to pay for one Criminal Records Bureau check when making multiple applications under the Care Standards Act 2000.

Stephen Ladyman: The requirement for charging for a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check is set out in the Police Act 1997. There is no provision in the legislation for allowing an application to be made without payment of a fee. However, volunteer care workers do not have to pay for a CRB check.

Consultants

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS consultant physician posts are unfilled; and what proportion of the consultant physician work force this represents.

John Hutton: The latest vacancy data available is at 31 March 2004.
	The table shows the three-month consultant physician vacancy rates and numbers.
	
		Three-month consultant physicians vacancy rate(20) and numbers in England as at 31 March 2004
		
			  2004 
			 Specialty 3 month vacancy rate (percentage) 3 month vacancy number Staff in post vacancy (whole-time number equivalent) Staff in post (headcount) 
		
		
			 Audiological medicine 0.0 0 34 39 
			 Cardiology 4.2 28 635 692 
			 Clinical genetics 2.1 2 94 124 
			 Clinical neurophysiology 4.9 4 78 86 
			 Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 0.0 0 50 74 
			 Dermatology 4.7 18 373 427 
			 Endocrinology and diabetes mellitus 3.3 16 469 538 
			 Gastroenterology 0.6 3 597 662 
			 Genito-urinary medicine 3.3 10 286 312 
			 Geriatric medicine 2.8 25 876 928 
			 Infectious diseases 0.0 0 70 102 
			 Medical oncology 3.5 6 164 197 
			 Neurology 3.4 13 371 427 
			 Nuclear medicine 9.3 5 44 53 
			 Occupational health 8.6 6 64 84 
			 Paediatric cardiology 1.6 1 62 68 
			 Palliative medicine 9.2 15 149 195 
			 Rehabilitation medicine 2.3 3 107 115 
			 Renal medicine 1.7 5 294 326 
			 Respiratory medicine 2.7 15 542 583 
			 Rheumatology 2.8 12 415 474 
			 Other(21) 18.8 43 184 239 
		
	
	(20) Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole-time equivalents). Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
	(21) No matching speciality can be found for pharmaceutical medicine or general medicine. These specialities and other specialities for which we do not have a match are reported under the Other category in the vacancy survey.
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental vacancy survey

Consultants' Contract (Derbyshire)

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to NHS trusts in (a) West Derbyshire constituency and (b) Derbyshire of implementing the new consultants' contract.

Stephen Ladyman: No estimates have been made of the costs of the consultant contract by constituency or county. Funding for the consultant contract, agreed with the British Medical Association during negotiations was allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs) in December 2002 as part of main allocations. The amount that went to main allocations was 0.3 per cent. (£129 million) in 2003–04, 0.4 per cent. (£178 million) in 2004–05 and 0.5 per cent. (£224 million) in 2005–06.

Digital Hearing Aids

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) North Southwark and Bermondsey, (b) Camberwell and Peckham and (c) Dulwich and West Norwood are on waiting lists for digital hearing aids; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not held centrally.

Doctors

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods his Department uses to monitor the performance of doctors.

John Hutton: Doctors' performance is a matter for their employer to regulate under contract of service.
	We have introduced systems of clinical governance, clinical audit and appraisal into the national health service all of which are designed to enable NHS trusts and primary care trusts to scrutinise evidence of an individual doctor's practice.

Free Nursing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what he estimates the average cost per resident will be of free nursing care for older people from 1 April.

Stephen Ladyman: The total budget for national health service funded nursing care for 2005–06 is £584 million, which amounts to an estimated average of £87 per person, per week.

GPs (Southwark, North and Bermondsey)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients there were for each general practitioner in Southwark, North and Bermondsey on the most recent recorded date; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Average list size of unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs)(22) by PCT in London as at 30 September 2003 -- Number (headcount)
		
			   UPEs Patients of UPEs Average list size 
		
		
			 England  28,568 52,713,780 1,845 
			 London  4,134 8,357,783 2,022 
			 of which: 
			 Q07 South East London 880 1,706,031 1,939 
			 TAK Bexley Care Trust 110 220,748 2,007 
			 5A7 Bromley PCT 167 316,819 1,897 
			 5A8 Greenwich PCT 108 253,156 2,344 
			 5LD Lambeth PCT 189 353,962 1,873 
			 5LF Lewisham PCT 149 279,822 1,878 
			 5LE Southwark PCT 157 281,524 1,793 
		
	
	(22) UPEs include general medical service (GMS) unrestricted principals, personal medical service (PMS) contracted general practitioners and PMS salaried GPs.
	Note:
	Patient data has been revised from previously published figures
	Source:
	Department of Health QMS and PMS statistics.

Health Services (Hendon)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners were practising in Hendon at 31 December (a) 2004 and (b) 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information on general practitioner numbers held by primary care trust (PCT) is shown in the table.
	
		All practitioners (excluding retainers, registrars and locums)(23) for North Central London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and Barnet PCT -- numbers (headcount)
		
			   1997 2001 December 2003 June 2004 
		
		
			 Q05 North Central London SHA 744 751 800 806 
			 5A9 Barnet PCT (24)— 202 211 230 
		
	
	(23) All practitioners (excluding registrars, retainers and locums) include general medical service (QMS) unrestricted principals, personal medical service (PMS) contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS others, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	(24) Not applicable.
	Note:
	Data as at 30 September 2001–03, 31 December 2003 and 30 June 2004.
	Source:
	Department of Health GMS and PMS statistics.

Hospital Improvements

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to modernise and improve buildings and services at (a) Northwick Park Hospital and (b) the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore.

Stephen Ladyman: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State approved the strategic outline case (SOC) for the redevelopment of Northwick Park Hospital and St. Mark's Hospital in North Brent on 27 July 2004, as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) development. The capital value of the scheme is £300 million. The scheme is expected to go out to the Official Journal of the European Union and tender for bidders in early 2006.
	The Secretary of State approved the SOC for the redevelopment of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital on 27 July 2004, as a PFI development. The capital value of the scheme is £121 million. The scheme is expected to go out to Official Journal of the EU and tender for bidders in mid-2005.

Intermediate Care Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to extend the provision of intermediate care services; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The NHS Plan announced a significant investment in a major programme to promote independence for older people by developing a wide range of services delivered in partnership with the national health service, social services, the independent sector and the voluntary sector. The programme has resulted in considerable growth in service provision over the 1999–2000 baseline, including:
	by September 2004 the number of intermediate care beds had more than doubled and the number of intermediate care places in non-residential settings had trebled,
	the number of people receiving intermediate care services increased by 77 per cent. between 1 April 2003 and 31 December 2003.

Parliamentary Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Mole Valley on 21 December 2004, ref. (a) 206687, (b) 206688 and (c) 206887.

Rosie Winterton: I replied to the hon. Member on Thursday 13 January.

Pesticide/Cancer Link

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on links between exposure to pesticides and the incidence of prostate cancer, with particular reference to the work of the Advisory Committee on Carcinogenicity.

Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) on 12 January 2005, Official Report, column 531W.

Prescription Charges

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the impact of the fairer charging guidance on people with disabilities and older people whose income is just above the guaranteed minimum income level of income support plus 25 per cent.

Stephen Ladyman: We plan in due course to assess the impact of guidance on 'Fairer charging policies for home care'.

Smallpox Vaccine

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2004, Official Report, column 872W, when the Government expects to have enough undiluted doses of smallpox vaccine to cover the entire population.

John Hutton: We currently have sufficient vaccine to mount a mass vaccination campaign for the United Kingdom population if required to do so. This would involve use of current stocks of both old and new vaccines, which are unlicensed. We have an on-going contract for the supply of licensed vaccine, which will provide sufficient undiluted doses of new vaccine for the entire UK population. Preparations for submission of a licence application for the vaccine are in progress and the vaccine will be supplied after completion of the necessary clinical trials and the granting of a licence.

Southwark Primary Care Trust

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targeted funding hospitals in the Southwark Primary Care Trust area have received for the provision of acute stroke care; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: In line with our policy of shifting the balance of power, it is for local commissioners and providers to decide how services, including acute stoke care, are funded to meet local needs based upon their knowledge of local priorities.

Southwark Primary Care Trust

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many nursing vacancies there are in the Southwark Primary Care Trust area;
	(2)  how many nurses are employed in each hospital in the Southwark Primary Care Trust area; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the rate and number of nursing vacancies, and the number of nursing staff in post for England as a whole, South East London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and Southwark Primary Care Trust (PCT).
	
		NHS three month vacancies, for qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff: three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post
		
			  3 month vacancy rate-percentage 3 month vacancy number Staff in post (whole-time equivalent) Staff in post (headcount) 
			  March 2004 September 2003 
		
		
			 England 2.6 7,508 291,925 364,692 
			 of which: 
			 South East London  SHA 7.3 811 11,024 13,930 
			 of which: 
			 Southwark PCT 16.3 48 287 346 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2004.
	2. Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents).
	3. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
	4. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
	5. Staff in post data is from the non-medical workforce census.
	Sources:
	Department of Health vacancies survey.
	Department of Health non-medical workforce census.

Southwark Primary Care Trust

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of bed blocking in hospitals located in the Southwark Primary Care Trust area; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Figures for the second quarter of 2003–04 show the total number of patients delayed in an acute hospital bed on any one day, within the Southwark Primary Care Trust area, is eight. This represents a reduction of 75 per cent., compared with the same time last year.

Southwark Primary Care Trust

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there were in the Southwark Primary Care Trust area in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		All practitioners (excluding registrars, retainers and locums)(25) for Southwark Primary Care Trust, 2001-June 2004
		
			 5LE Numbers (headcount) 
		
		
			 Southwark PCT  
			 2001 145 
			 2002 142 
			 2003 159 
			 June 2004 170 
		
	
	(25) All practitioners (excluding registrars, retainers and locums) include general medical service (GMS) unrestricted principals, personal medical service (PMS) contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS others, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	Data as at 30 September 2001–03 and 30 June 2004.
	Source:
	Department of Health GMS and PMS statistics.

Southwark Primary Care Trust

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the Southwark primary care trust area waited more than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months, (d) 12 months, (e) 15 months, (f) 18 months and (g) 24 months for (i) heart operations, (ii) cancer treatment and (iii) hip replacements in each year since 2000–01; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		Count of finished in-year admissions from waiting list and booked cases combined for heart operations. Heart operations defined as OPCS4=K01-K71 in primary operative procedure field. PCT of Residence=5LE (Southwark PCT) NHS hospitals England 2000–01 to 2003–04
		
			  Finished in-year admissions 
			 Time waited 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 0 to three months 348 443 344 496 
			 more than three to six months 129 103 93 116 
			 more than six to nine months 46 29 19 24 
			 more than nine to 12 months 26 15 7 12 
			 more than 12 to 15 months * 8 7 * 
			 more than 15 to 18 months 10 * * — 
			 more than 18 to 24 months * * — — 
			 more than 24 months * — * — 
			 Not known 11 17 73 29 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between one and five have been suppressed and replaced with *.
	2. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	3. The main operation is the first recorded operation in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. time waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
	4. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	5. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	6. Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.
	
		Count of finished in-year admissions from waiting list and booked cases combined for cancer treatment. Cancer treatment defined as ICD-10= COO-D48 in primary diagnosis and OPCS4=AOO-X59 in primary operative procedure field. PCT of Residence=5LE (Southwark PCT) NHS hospitals England 2000–01 to 2003–04
		
			  Finished in-year admissions 
			 Time waited 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 0 to three months 1,117 1,042 901 847 
			 more than three to six months 147 165 166 175 
			 more than six to nine months 69 53 41 62 
			 more than nine to 12 months 32 22 54 33 
			 more than 12 to 15 months 6 28 30 9 
			 more than 15 to 18 months 24 33 * * 
			 more than 18 to 24 months 7 7 * — 
			 more than 24 months * * * — 
			 Not known 35 88 114 496 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between one and five have been suppressed and replaced with *.
	2. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	3. The main operation is the first recorded operation in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. time waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
	4. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	5. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	6. Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.
	
		Count of finished in-year admissions from waiting list and booked cases combined for hip replacements. Hip replacements defined as OPCS4=W37-W39 and W46-W48 in primary operative procedure field. PCT of Residence=5LE (Southwark PCT) NHS hospitals England 2000–01 to 2003–04
		
			  Finished in-year admissions 
			 Time waited 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 0 to three months 23 24 15 30 
			 more than three to six months 14 15 20 23 
			 more than six to nine months 16 16 18 16 
			 more than nine to 12 months 14 14 26 30 
			 more than 12–15 months 8 11 18 8 
			 more than 15–18 months 7 17 6 * 
			 more than 18–24 months * 6 * * 
			 more than 24 months * * * * 
			 Not known * * 19 * 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between one and five have been suppressed and replaced with *.
	2. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	3. The main operation is the first recorded operation in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. time waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
	4. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	5. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	6. Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.

Sunderland Royal Hospital

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision of orthodontic surgeons at the Sunderland Royal hospital; and what plans he has to increase their numbers.

John Hutton: This is a matter for the Chair of City Hospitals Sunderland National Health Service Foundation Trust. I have written to Mr. David Graham, Chair, informing him of my hon. Friend's inquiry.

Treatment Costs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate (a) the total cost of using the independent sector to treat NHS patients and (b) the cost of treating those patients in the NHS in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: The information requested is not separately identified in the annual financial returns of national health service providers.

Waiting Times

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the (a) Solihull constituency and (b) borough of Solihull waited for more than six months for foot and ankle surgery under a podiatric surgeon in 2004.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not available in the format requested.
	The table shows the time waited for foot and ankle surgery for patients within Solihull Primary Care Trust (PCT), which includes residents from the Solihull constituency and the borough of Solihull, during 2003–04.
	
		Waiting list and booked cases: Count of finished in year admissions distribution of time waited for foot and ankle surgery for Solihull PCT in national health service hospitals in England 2003–04
		
			 Time waited Number 
		
		
			 Under 3 months 76 
			 2 to 6 months 81 
			 6 months and over 25 
			   
			 Total admissions 183 
			 Mean days 113.6 
			 Median days 110 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data ie that the data are ungrossed.
	2. Hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 national health service trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Department liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes.
	3. Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period, whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	4. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.
	The figures are different to those given in my reply to the hon. Member of 14 December 2004, Official Report, column 1082W, because processing of hospital episode statistics can lead to changes in the data over time.

Walk-in Centres

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the (a) social class, (b) income, (c) health, (d) morbidity and (e) mortality characteristics of the patients expected to use NHS walk-in centres at or near major railway stations.

John Hutton: holding answer 13 January 2005
	All national health service walk-in-centres are open to anyone. We expect those who use each of the seven new centres to be sited at or near major railway stations to reflect the socio-economic characteristics of the local working and resident populations. A survey conducted by MORI in November 2004 confirmed that these centres would be welcomed and used by those who work in the vicinity. Actual use of these centres will be monitored as part of our planned evaluation.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the minimum financial requirement per annum for public companies setting up academy schools is; and whether it has to be in cash;
	(2)  what the minimum financial requirement per annum for private companies setting up academy schools is;
	(3)  whether academy schools are allowed to borrow (a) on financial markets and (b) from banks.

Stephen Twigg: In general, Academy sponsors are required to provide 10 per cent. of the capital costs of establishing an Academy, up to a cap of £2 million. The balance is paid by the Department. Capital sponsorship in most instances is in cash, but can be in kind (for example ICT equipment) if the sponsorship shows value for money and appropriate to the needs of the Academy (and can be from a single person or company or group of sponsors). There is no requirement for sponsors to contribute to Academies running costs.
	The Trusts which run Academies may borrow from the financial sector. However, like maintained schools, they would require the Secretary of State's consent to do so. The Secretary of State would only be likely to grant consent where a reasonable need to borrow was shown. Academy Trusts cannot borrow against assets that have been given to them for nil consideration (for example, land transferred from local authorities).

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether academy schools will be required to take the same proportion of disruptive pupils as other local schools;
	(2)  whether academy schools are required to be specialist schools;
	(3)  whether academy schools are (a) allowed and (b) required to be selective.

Stephen Twigg: Academies are established in disadvantaged areas and are local schools for local children. In all cases, their admission arrangements are agreed with the Secretary of State as a condition of the Funding Agreement; they are consistent with the Code of Practice on admissions to maintained schools and with admissions law, as well as the Code of Practice on Special Educational Needs. Academies are required by their Funding Agreements to take part in their local Admissions Forum, and to have regard to its advice. Academies must also participate in the co-ordinated admission arrangements operated by the LEA for the area where they are situated.
	In general, Academies showed a decrease in the number of permanent and fixed terms exclusions in 2003/04 compared to the previous year for the schools which they replaced.
	Academies are required by their Funding Agreement to offer a broad and balanced curriculum with a specialism in one or more subjects.
	Academies are required by law to cater for children of all abilities. Like maintained specialist schools, academies are allowed to admit up to 10 per cent. of pupils each year on the basis of their aptitude for the specialism concerned, where the specialism is covered by the relevant regulations.

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the main differences are between city Academies and City Technology Colleges; and what proportion of public funding each receives.

Stephen Twigg: The main differences between Academies and City Technology Colleges (CTCs) are around admissions and funding. A CTC is able to select those applicants who are most likely to benefit from the college's emphasis on science and technology, have the strongest motivation to succeed and intend to continue in full time education or training up to the age of 18. Unlike CTCs, Academies are required to comply with the codes of practice on admissions and admissions appeals, and to the admissions law as it applies to maintained schools. They are required to take part in local co-ordinated admissions arrangements. Academies must have regard to the code of practice on SEN and to the statutory guidance on inclusion.
	Both CTCs and Academies receive 100 per cent. of their recurrent funding from the Department. CTCs and Academies are treated on the same basis for ongoing capital funding once open, in that the Department would generally fund 80 per cent. of such costs with the trust finding the remaining 20 per cent., though where work arises through statutory requirements the Department would meet all the costs.
	The Department funds CTCs through a funding agreement with the Secretary of State. One fifth of the initial capital cost was paid by private sector sponsors who continue to contribute 20 per cent. towards all capital projects. The Department funds CTCs' running costs on the basis of a direct comparison with budgeted spending for secondary schools in the LEAs from which the CTCs collectively take their pupils. An overall average cost per pupil is derived from this comparison and applied to all the CTCs.
	The Department also funds Academies through a funding agreement with the Secretary of State. Sponsors pay 10 per cent., up to a cap of £2 million of the capital cost of the project. The Department funds Academies' running costs on a comparable basis to maintained specialist schools within the LEA where the Academy is located

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether national teachers' pay scales apply to city academies; and whether they can pay higher salaries.

Stephen Twigg: Academies are not bound by the Teachers Pay and Conditions of Service. They and their staff will be able to negotiate pay and conditions arrangements to meet the particular needs of the Academy and its pupils. Where Academies replace existing schools there will in many cases be a transfer of undertakings under the TUPE regulations.
	We want Academies to respond innovatively to the challenges they face and the ability to negotiate their own pay and conditions is part of the increased flexibility they need to do that.

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many academy schools are operating; and how many more are planned;
	(2)  what targets have been set for the establishment of academy schools by May;
	(3)  how many (a) agreements have been reached and (b) expressions of interest have been received (i) to build new academy schools and (ii) to transfer existing schools to academy schools.

Stephen Twigg: There are currently 17 academies open across England. As announced in the Government's Five-year Strategy for Education, published in July 2004, our target is for 200 academies to be open or in the pipeline by 2010. No further academies are planned to open before May 2005.
	Twenty-nine Funding Agreements have been agreed between the Secretary of State and academy sponsors. Of these, four are for entirely new academies and 25 involve the closure of predecessor schools. A further 35 expressions of interest have been received and approved, of which five are to be new academies and 25 are to involve the closure of predecessor schools. Five projects which had had approved expressions of interest have been abandoned in the feasibility stage. Two expressions of interest have been received but rejected as they were unsuitable for the programme. One further expression of interest for the replacement of an existing school has been received but has not yet been approved.

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the source of public funding for academy schools is; how it is calculated; and whether it is set at the same level per pupil as for local authority schools in the same area.

Stephen Twigg: The Government is committed to funding Academies on a comparable basis to other schools in their areas with similar characteristics. Each Academy receives a General Annual Grant from the Secretary of State to meet its normal running costs. This grant is calculated on the basis of the funding formula of the LEA in which it is situated, with an additional allowance for the money which LEAs hold back from maintained schools but which is for their benefit. General Annual Grant also includes a per pupil allowance in relation to the Academy specialism. Funding Academies on a comparable basis to other schools ensures the successes which they achieve are directly applicable to other schools in the same areas and circumstances.
	In addition, Academies are eligible to receive Standards Fund grant, and certain other grants routed through LEAs, on the same basis as neighbouring maintained schools.

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  under what circumstances academy schools are permitted to close; and whether the land and property of an academy school that closes (a) reverts to the local authority and (b) can be sold or used for other purposes;
	(2)  who will own academy schools' land and buildings; and what the terms of ownership will be.

Stephen Twigg: An Academy would be permitted to close in only rare circumstances and where interventions had failed. For example, if the Secretary of State had major concerns about the management of the Academy, where there were continued low standards with no sign of improvement or where the Academy Trust was found to be in significant breach of its Funding Agreement and had not remedied those breaches.
	Ownership of any existing buildings or land required to establish an Academy is transferred from the current owner, usually the local education authority, to the Academy Trust before an academy opens. The Academy Trust is a charitable trust set up by the sponsor, responsible for the building and running of the Academy. Should the Academy close, ownership of the land and buildings would revert to the previous owner.

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether her Department maintains a list of approved bidders for academy schools.

Derek Twigg: Yes. The Department also maintains lists of approved companies to provide Project Management Services, Construction Project Management Services and design teams. These have been drawn together through Official Journal of European Union (OJEU) tendering exercises.

Academy Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether academy schools are required to have sixth forms;
	(2)  whether all academy schools have sixth forms.

Stephen Twigg: Academies are not required to have sixth forms. Of the seventeen academies that are currently open, fifteen have, or will have, provision for sixth form students.

Adult Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what savings she estimates will accrue from the withdrawal of subsidies by (a) central and (b) local government to adult and continuing education.

Ivan Lewis: No savings will be accrued as funding has not been withdrawn. The Government agreed with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) a budget of £207.4 million in 2004–05 for adult education secured through local education authorities, an increase of 43 per cent. compared with funding in 2000–01 of £145 million. In addition the LSC has been consulting on reforming the planning and funding of non-qualification provision to meet our commitments to safeguard learning opportunities for personal and community development and to secure a coherent range of "first steps" learning opportunities in every area.

Adult Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) courses are being discontinued and (b) staff are being made redundant as a result of the withdrawal of funding for adult and continuing education.

Ivan Lewis: The Government are maintaining their commitment to safeguard the availability of these types of learning opportunities. The Government agreed with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) a budget of £207.4 million in 2004–05 for adult education secured through local education authorities, an increase of 43 per cent. compared with funding in 2000–01 of £145 million.
	Local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) together with local learning providers are charged with making decisions about the range of courses provided depending on local needs and demands. These are local decisions and there is no national record either of courses discontinued, or indeed new courses created, or on staff redundancies.

Adult Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff were employed in adult and continuing education in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: There is no central data collection on staff numbers employed in delivering LEA-secured adult education, so it is not possible to provide the information requested.

Autism

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) primary school and (b) secondary school teachers have received specialist training in (i) autism awareness and (ii) teaching techniques relevant for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Stephen Twigg: This information is not collected centrally by the Department. The National Autistic Society's 2002 report, Autism in Schools: Crisis or Challenge?, found that 19 per cent. of some 6,800 teachers surveyed had received some autism specific training. In the same year the Department together with the Department of Health published good practice guidance on autistic spectrum disorders one of the aims of which was to raise awareness amongst teachers and other professionals. Some 27,000 copies have been distributed in response to demand.
	The Government's recently published SEN strategy, Removing Barriers to Achievement, recognises the importance of effective training and continuing professional development. The Department is working with the Teacher Training Agency to carry forward a number of practical proposals for strengthening teacher training in SEN and disability issues.

Autism

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many hours of intervention a pre-school child with autism spectrum disorder has access to.

Margaret Hodge: Government recognises the importance of early intervention for children with autistic spectrum disorders and relevant initiatives aim to ease access to informed intervention for pre-school children below the age of five. All three and four year olds are now entitled to a free part-time early education place, for at least 12 and a half hours a week, if their parents want one. The Government's special educational needs (SEN) strategy Removing Barriers to Achievement (February 2004) set out a programme for improving advice and support to, and the skills of, early years settings in meeting the needs of children with SEN. Local education authorities, where necessary, have duties and powers to assess pre-school children's SEN, including children with autistic spectrum disorders, and to draw up statements of SEN setting out the provision necessary to meet the child's needs. The provision, including the number of hours of any specialist intervention, will depend on the nature and intensity of the individual child's needs.
	Information for parents on autistic spectrum disorders and related conditions is contained in a booklet available through the Government's Early Support Programme.

Autism

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children over the age of five years have been diagnosed with autism in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	As at January 2004 the total number of Special Educational Needs children in England whose primary type of need is Autistic Spectrum Disorder is 31,260.

Autism

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in each local education authority area have been diagnosed with autism.

Margaret Hodge: In January 2004, data on type of special educational needs (SEN) was collected for the first time. All schools were sent information about each of 11 types of need to help them to categorise pupils reliably, but the Department believes that for the first year of collection the data should be treated with considerable caution. We are therefore not publishing the data at local authority level this year.
	As at January 2004 the total number of Special Educational Needs children in England whose primary type of need is Autistic Spectrum Disorder is 31,260.

Building Better Schools

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with local education authorities involved in the first wave of the Building Better Schools programme;
	(2)  what representations she has received from areas involved in the first wave of the Building Better Schools programme; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: Since February 2004, when we announced the first wave of projects in Building Schools for the Future, we and our delivery partners, Partnerships for Schools, have given each of the 19 authorities tailored and dedicated support. Each authority has a contact officer from my Department to help deal with any education policy queries and a project director from Partnerships for Schools to help develop their business cases. We also contract with the 4ps to give the authorities advice and support about stakeholder consultation and involvement.
	The level and frequency of discussions with, and representations from, the local authorities has varied according to the individual circumstances and needs of each project. Key themes of the discussions and representations have included: project affordability and scoping; 'joining up' other capital funding streams to make the most of the programme and develop extended schools; the funding arrangements for voluntary aided schools; the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs; and assessment of the potential role for academies in those areas.

Child Trafficking

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local authorities have trafficked children in their care; and which local authorities have had trafficked children in their care between 1999 and 2004.

Margaret Hodge: This information is not held centrally.
	In November last year, the Government published provisional statistics on looked after children at a national level. It was an update from the previous publication which was released in March 2004.
	The statistics included details of overall numbers of looked after children at 31 March, the number of children adopted in 2003–04, the number and qualifications achieved by care leavers in 2003–04 aged 16 and over, and the activity of 19-year-old former care leavers.

Child Trafficking

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) country of origin and (b) purposes for which they were trafficked were of trafficked children in local authority care between 1999 and 2004.

Margaret Hodge: This information is not held centrally. Trafficking by its nature is a hidden crime, and there are no reliable figures for the numbers of children trafficked into the UK.
	In November last year, the Government published provisional statistics on children looked after at a national level. It was an update from the previous publication which was released in March 2004.
	The statistics included details of overall numbers of looked after children at 31 March, the number of children adopted in 2003–04, the number and qualifications achieved by care leavers in 2003–04 aged 16 and over, and the activity of 19 year old former care leavers.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what budget has been allocated to CAFCASSin each of the last two years; and how many staff have been employed by the Service in each of the last two years.

Margaret Hodge: The budget for CAFCASS has increased steadily since its formation in April 2001.
	CAFCASS's budget allocation in 2002–03 was £84.5 million (on a cash basis and including £4 million unspent from 2001–02). The baseline budget for 2003–04 was £95 million. In addition, £2.5 million was provided to help with the transition from cash to resource accounting.
	The total cost for the running of CAFCASS in the financial year 2003–04 was £99 million.
	The budget allocation for 2004–05 is £107 million, representing an increase of £12 million over the baseline budget.
	The total numbers of staff (full-time and part-time) employed at 1 April 2003 and 1 April 2004 were as follows:
	
		1 April 2003
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Full time 1,306 
			 Part time 578 
			 Total staff 1,884 
		
	
	In addition, there were 406 self-employed CAFCASS practitioners on 1 April 2003.
	
		1 April 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Full time 1,360 
			 Part time 558 
			 Total staff 1,918 
		
	
	In addition, there were 441 self-employed CAFCASS practitioners on 1 April 2004.
	Note
	The discrepancy between the total figures given here (1,884 and 1,918) and those quoted in the CAFCASS 2003–04 Annual Report (1,879 and 1,932) is because CAFCASS subsequently undertook a data cleansing exercise of its management information systems and redefined the criteria used for employed staff. Furthermore, CAFCASS had included Board members and agency staff in its historical data.

Children in Care

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether she plans to conduct a review of the effect of her Department's policies upon children in care; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether she plans to conduct a review of the effect of her Department's policies upon children in care; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Government is committed to improving the level of stability in the lives of looked after children, their educational support, and the outcomes they achieve. We have invested significantly in services for this group and continue to do so. The effect of policies on looked after children is monitored systematically through a variety of routes. We collect and publish a wide range of data from local authorities on an annual basis about services to and outcomes achieved by looked after children. Secondly, the draft proposals for the new joint area reviews of children services established by the Children Act 2004 mean that reports will focus specifically on this vulnerable group of children—both on the way services are working together to meet their needs within an area, and on the results achieved. We are also reviewing the National Minimum Standards used by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) to inspect and register services for children, including those for fostering and adoption agencies and for residential child care, to consider if they could be better focused around outcomes for children.

City Technology Colleges

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many city technology colleges there are; how much the (a) private and (b) state sector contributed to their costs in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total costs per student were in (i) City Technology Colleges and (ii) other state schools in that year.

Stephen Twigg: There are 14 City Technology Colleges (CTCs) one of which is a City College for the Technology of the Arts. The CTCs have reported that they have received over £1.2 million from private sector sponsorship in cash or kind during the 2003/04 academic year. During the same period the Department has provided £76.6 million to CTCs by way of recurrent grants and £2.2 million for approved capital projects. The CTC Unit of Funding for pupils under school leaving age in the 2003–2004 academic year was £3,717. This was uplifted by 30 per cent. for post 16 pupils.
	There is no equivalent per-pupil funding figure either directly to other state schools from LEAs or to LEAs, since in both cases the funding covers different responsibilities. The CTC unit of funding includes elements of funding for tasks/services that an LEA would normally provide for its schools but a CTC has to provide for itself. It excludes any area cost weighting which might also be received by a particular school.
	The funding for to LEAs in England via Education Formula Spending and Revenue Grants was £4,290 per pupil aged 11–15 in the academic year 2003/04 (based on financial year figures from 2003–04 and 2004–05). This is a wider definition than the CTC unit of funding since it includes funding for all an LEAs responsibilities in relation to children aged 11–15, and the area cost adjustment.

Departmental Equipment

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many items of electrical equipment were used by her Department in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) cost and (b) number of each type of item.

Stephen Twigg: This information could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent by her Department on (a) new furniture and (b) hired furniture in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: The cost of furniture spent in my Department in each year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,189,057 
			 1998–99 677,873 
			 1999–2000 967,415 
			 2000–01 2,201,357 
			 2001–02 2,640,728 
			 2002–03 1,167,656 
			 2003–04 2,185,628 
		
	
	Unfortunately the information cannot be split between new furniture and hired furniture.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of refurbishments in her Department was in each year since 1997; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Stephen Twigg: The cost of refurbishments carried out in my Department in each year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 (26)—; 
			 1998–99 2,970,093 
			 1999–2000 3,928,406 
			 2000–01 4,604,749 
			 2001–02 3,683,494 
			 2002–03 5,290,833 
			 2003–04 3,384,202 
		
	
	(26) his information can only be provided at disproportionate costs.
	The estimated outturn for 2004–05 is £1,500,000 and the planned expenditure for 2005–06 is not known at this present time.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent by her Department on lighting in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: This information could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many departmental mobile telephones were used by Ministers, special advisers and officials in his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997; at what cost; how many such telephones were lost or stolen in each year since 1997; and what the replacement costs were in each case.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 6 December 2004
	The total number of mobile phones in use at December 2004 was 1,140. Information on the number of mobiles in use in any given year, as opposed to the number purchased in each year, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The information on use of mobile phones by Ministers, special advisers and officials on a year by year basis could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The replacement cost of mobile phones lost and stolen has been calculated at current prices and the total cost of mobile services is given for each year.
	
		£
		
			  Lost/stolen Replacement cost Total cost 
		
		
			 1997–98 1 204.45 170,045.78 
			 1998–99 0 0 168,298.72 
			 1999–2000 1 204.45 218,889.09 
			 2000–01 3 613.35 329,196.99 
			 2001–02 3 613.35 374,248.87 
			 2002–03 4 817.80 353,955.78 
			 2003–04 9 1840.05 270,547.63 
			 2004–05 7 1431.15 —

Departmental Publications

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 10 January 2005 to question 207543 from the hon. Member for Fareham, how many pages there were in each of the publications sent to primary and secondary schools.

Derek Twigg: We strictly monitor and gatekeep the information that we automatically send to schools. Details of documents sent to schools in the period requested are detailed in Annex A.
	The academic year 2002–03 saw a 50 per cent. reduction on the number of documents sent to all schools compared to the previous 2001–02 year.
	Going forward, we have successfully piloted an online ordering system that will enable schools to choose what information they want from the Department and when. This will put schools in control of what they receive.

Devon School Budgets

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding will be allocated to Devon schools in 2005–06 to implement phase 3 of the National Agreement on Workforce Reform; and if she will have discussions with Devon teachers about the possible impact on school budgets.

Stephen Twigg: The provisional local government funding settlement for 2005–06 was announced on 2 December 2004 and provided a good settlement for schools. All schools will receive at least the guaranteed per-pupil increases that we announced in July. The guarantee for secondary and special schools remains at 4 per cent. per pupil, but the guarantee for primary and nursery schools is higher at 5 per cent. per pupil. This is in recognition that these schools need extra support to implement the final phase of workforce reform from 1 September 2005, including guaranteed time for all teachers for planning, preparation and assessment activities. The package was welcomed by representatives of teachers, headteacher and support staff on the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group.
	To ensure that there is headroom above the guarantee all authorities will receive an increase in their School Formula Spending Share of at least 5.5 per cent. Devon's settlement for 2005–06 is significantly higher at 7 per cent. and Torbay will also receive a higher settlement of 6.5 per cent., giving both authorities greater flexibility to target resources at schools with particular pressures. Local education authorities have a great deal of freedom to decide how to allocate the available resources through their local funding formula. Therefore I think Devon teachers should press their case locally.

Entertainment Costs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on entertainment by his Department in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) food, (b) alcohol, (c) staff and (d) accommodation.

Stephen Twigg: All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in Government Accounting. The following table sets out such spending in £ thousand for DfES and its predecessor Department in the relevant years. It is not possible to split these figures into the elements requested. The figures exclude costs incurred as part of official events or formal meetings held to further departmental business.
	
		£000
		
			  Department for Education and Employment Department for Education and Skills 
		
		
			 1996–97 24 — 
			 1997–98 21 — 
			 1998–99 31 — 
			 1999–2000 21 — 
			 2000–01 20 — 
			 2001–02 — 11 
			 2002–03 — 16 
			 2003–04 — 20

Foreign Language Teachers

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to increase the number of teachers of modern foreign languages in (a) secondary and (b) primary schools; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The Government's National Languages Strategy for England recognises the importance of developing a workforce to implement primary language learning. This year 580 places have been allocated for Primary Initial Teacher Training with a specialism in French, German, Spanish or Italian and we intend to expand the programme further next year to 725 places. In addition we allocate 50 primary MFL places a year to the Graduate Teacher Programme.
	In addition to training for new teachers, we plan to increase numbers through Continuing Professional Development courses for existing primary teachers and through the contribution of teaching assistants and foreign language assistants.
	At secondary level we have no plans to increase the number of secondary modern foreign language teachers, given that demand will begin to fall, in line with falling pupil numbers.

Foreign Language Teachers

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to improve (a) modern foreign language (i) teaching standards and (ii) take-up and (b) the variety of modern foreign languages available in schools, with particular reference to (A) GCSE and (B) A-level courses; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: Since the publication of the National Languages Strategy in December 2002, we have made much progress to improve teaching standards and take up of modern foreign languages in both primary and secondary schools.
	At primary level, 19 local education authorities have taken up Key Stage 2 language pathfinder roles to develop ways of delivering primary languages; we are consulting on a draft framework for the teaching and learning of Key Stage 2 languages; we have recently committed £5 million to support primary language learning in 2005–06; and by the end of last year we had trained well over 1,000 new teachers with a modern foreign language specialism. In addition, many primary schools benefit from the resources and teaching expertise from their local specialist language college to support and deliver quality language learning programmes.
	At secondary level, the Key Stage 3 National Strategy Modern Foreign Language programme, introduced into schools in 2003, is designed to contribute to the raising of standards in Modern Foreign Languages. The programme consists of a framework of objectives for teaching Modern Foreign Languages throughout Key Stage 3 and encourages teachers to draw on existing good practice and work together to become more effective so that pupils improve in what and how they learn. Since its introduction Ofsted have commented that the use of the framework has helped teaching and the approach it encourages is having a positive effect on the attitudes of pupils.
	The changes to the statutory curriculum at Key Stage 4 were introduced to enable schools to offer more choice and flexibility to their pupils, facilitating the introduction of new types of learning—in particular more vocational approaches. The flexibility in the new curriculum creates space for students to pursue learning programmes that reflect their aspirations and needs as well as maintaining a strong grasp of the basics. In this new flexibility students have an entitlement to follow a course in Modern Foreign Languages.
	The changes at Key Stage 4 should not impact on our able and enthusiastic linguists, who we expect will continue to study languages at GCSE, A-level and beyond. By introducing language learning at Key Stage 2 our ambition is that we engage pupils when we know they are more receptive, so that we maximise their potential for language learning and harness their enthusiasm in order that they continue to study languages during their secondary education and beyond.
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority published guidance last year entitled "Modern Foreign Languages in the Key Stage 4 Curriculum" which provides detailed guidance for the provision of Modern Foreign Languages at Key Stage 4. It includes information on statutory requirements—including the range of languages schools can offer—qualifications and the different courses available. Schools must offer at least one course in an official language of the EU that leads to an approved qualification. Schools may, in addition, offer courses in any other foreign language(s).
	To recognise the achievement of language learners of all ages, we are developing a new voluntary recognition scheme—The Languages Ladder. The scheme is currently being piloted in three languages and will be available to all schools in eight languages from September 2005.

Foreign Language Teachers

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers of modern foreign languages there were in secondary schools in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The following table shows the number of full-time foreign language teachers in maintained secondary schools as at November of 1996 and 2002. The figures are estimates based upon sample surveys that were carried out most recently in 1996 and 2002 only.
	
		
			  1996 2002 
		
		
			 French 15,500 16,000 
			 German 6,900 6,900 
			 Spanish 2,500 3,600 
			 Other 2,700 1,400 
			 Total 27,600 27,900 
		
	
	Source:
	Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey, 1996 and 2002

Foreign Language Teachers

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ensure equal status for A levels in minority ethnic community languages with European modern languages in university admissions criteria; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: Higher education institutions are responsible for their own admissions policies and practices. Universities and colleges take into account a range of factors in determining the suitability of a particular applicant, and we have no evidence that, within that assessment, A level qualifications in minority ethnic community languages are considered to be of any less value than European modern languages.
	The Government's position is that applicants, parents, teachers and other stakeholders should have confidence that higher education admissions systems are fair. The recently completed review of admissions led by Professor Steven Schwartz concluded that they are generally fair. Professor Schwartz has though set out a series of high level principles as a basis for fair admissions which we hope that all universities and colleges will take steps to adopt as they review and develop their own admissions policies, practices and systems.

Funding

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the total central Government funding per pupil for each local education authority in England from 1996–97 to 2004–05 calculated on the basis used for the figures provided to the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire on 9 November 2004; if she will provide average figures for (a) the shire counties and (b) England for each of these years on the same basis; and if she will provide estimated figures for 2005–06 on the same basis.

Stephen Twigg: The figures provided to the hon. Member on 9 November were for the years 2003–04 and 2004–05 in cash terms and included the pensions transfer to Education Formula Spending and the Learning and Skills Council in 2003–04.
	A set of tables for all LEAs which give both the real terms series for 1997–98 to 2004–05, and a cash terms series with no adjustment for the pensions transfer for the same time period, has been placed in the Library.
	When providing a series of funding figures we would usually supply real terms figures and exclude the pensions transfer to EPS and the LSC to give the most meaningful comparison to years before the transfer occurred. We do not have comparable figures for the year 1996–97, nor do we yet have estimated figures for 2005–06.
	Average figures for the shire counties and for England on these bases are given as follows:
	
		Average funding per pupil aged 3–19 -- £
		
			  Real terms, excluding pensions transfer to EPS and LSC in 2003–04 and 2004–05 Cash terms, including the pensions transfer to EPS and LSC in 2003–04 and 2004–05 
			  Shire counties England Shire counties England 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,780 2,900 2,400 2,510 
			 1998–99 2,820 2,950 2,500 2,620 
			 1999–2000 2,920 3,080 2,650 2,800 
			 2000–01 3,150 3,330 2,890 3,060 
			 2001–02 3,290 3,490 3,100 3,280 
			 2002–03 3,370 3,580 3,280 3,490 
			 2003–04 3,480 3,710 3,550 3,790 
			 2004–05 3,610 3,850 3,770 4,020 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures given are total funding per pupil aged 3–19 via education formula spending/standard spending assessment and grants allocated at an LEA level. EFS/SSA are part of the wider local government system and are supported by council tax.

Funding

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding each school in Derby, North has received from the new deal for schools.

Stephen Twigg: The funding for New Deal for Schools allocated to Derby City from 1997–98 to 2001–02 is set out in the following table.
	
		Derby City LEA
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 1997–98 346 
			 1998–99 1,150 
			 1999–2000 1,183 
			 2000–01 2,812 
		
	
	Decisions on detailed allocations to individual schools were made locally by LEAs. The breakdown of funds allocated to schools by constituency is not held centrally.

Funding

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by how much funding for (a) lower, (b) middle and (c) upper schools in Bedford and Kempston has changed in real terms between 1997 and 2004.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is submitted to the Department according to local education authority areas, rather than districts within an LEA. Bedford and Kempston constituency forms part of Bedfordshire LEA. The information requested is only available from 2000–01 onwards. Due to changes in the school funding system, it is not possible to provide corresponding figures for previous years. The available information about funding in Bedfordshire local education authority is contained in the following table.
	
		Total budget share (£)
		
			  Primary Middle Secondary 
		
		
			 2000–01 47,628,345 40,683,595 51,134,300 
			 2004–05 57,627,898 45,203,408 60,545,380 
			 Change 9,999,553 4,519,813 9,411,080 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The Information is taken from Bedfordshire LEA's section 52 budget statement.
	2. These figures are the Individual Schools Budget (ISB) allocated to schools. In 2004–05 there was a further £747,818 unallocated Schools Budget (no unallocated ISB was reported in 2000–01).
	3. In 2004–05 an additional £19.4 million was funded through the school standards grant and the devolved standard fund (of which £7.2 million was for primary schools, £3.3 million for middle deemed schools, £5.6 million for secondary schools and £3.3 million was unallocated) while in 2000–01 an additional £12.9 million was funded through the devolved standard fund (of which £1.9 million was for primary schools, £1 million for middle deemed schools, £1.3 million for secondary schools and £8.8 million was unallocated).
	4. Prior to 1999–2000 budget data was not collected at school level. In 1999–2000 school level data were collected but amendments were not checked back with LEAs. If the data were to be made available externally, the cleansed data would need to be agreed by the LEAs which would require a significant amount of time and effort.
	5. In 2000–01 school standards grants was not recorded on Section 52 Budget Table 2.
	6. In 2004–05 Bedfordshire LEA also reported an unallocated Excellence in Cities (EiC) Grant of £229,000 (no EiC was reported as allocated). In 2000–01 EiC was reported within the devolved standard fund and will therefore be included in the additional £12.9million figure given above. This funding is not included in the above table.
	7. All figures are as reported by the LEA in real terms (2003–04 prices) using the 23 December 2004 GDP deflators.

Funding

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the level of funding for schools in Hendon for 2005–06.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested is produced according to local education authority areas rather than districts within an area. Hendon is a district of the London Borough of Barnet. The provisional local government settlement for 2005–06 was announced on 2 December 2004 and provided all authorities with an increase of at least 5.5 per cent. per pupil aged 3–15. Barnet's settlement for 2005–06 is significantly higher at 8 per cent. per pupil, giving the authority flexibility to target resources at schools with particular pressures.

GCSE grades

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the percentage change was between 1997 and 2004 for the number of young people in the Leyton and Wanstead constituency achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C;
	(2)  what the percentage change between 1997 and 2004 was for young people achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C.

Stephen Twigg: The following table shows the proportion of pupils achieving five or more grades A* to C at GCSE and equivalent from 1997 to 2004 and the percentage point change for (a) Leyton and Wanstead constituency and (b) England:
	
		Percentage of 15 year old pupils(27) achieving five or more grades A* to C at GCSE and equivalent(28) -- Percentage
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Leyton and Wanstead 35.7 35.0 38.4 40.2 41.7 44.1 46.3 46.1 10.4 
			 England 45.1 46.3 47.9 49.2 50.0 51.6 52.9 53.7 8.6 
		
	
	(27) As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
	(28) For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.

Holiday Centres

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether she has assessed the level of information made available to parents about the standards of care of children provided by holiday centres.

Margaret Hodge: Holiday play schemes providing care for children aged under eight for more than two hours in any day and for more than five days a year are registered and inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).
	Registration requirements are set out in national standards which define the required outcome and supporting criteria.
	After inspection, Ofsted publishes a report which provides information to parents on the standards of care.
	The Government have brought in new regulations clarifying Ofsted's duties to share information with parents and others, including information about the standards of care. These regulations came into force on 30 December 2004.

Much Dewchurch Steiner School

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultations she has had with Herefordshire council about the provision of Academy Status for the Much Dewchurch Steiner School; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: My officials from Academies Division have been exploring a Steiner Academy proposal for Much Dewchurch and discussions are continuing. I understand that the hon. Member has previously written to my predecessor and to the Director of Education in Herefordshire, to express his full support for the proposal and his desire for it to progress without delay.

Newspapers and Periodicals

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the (a) newspapers and (b) periodicals taken by her Department in each year since 1997; and how much the Department spent on each in each year.

Stephen Twigg: This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Non-qualified Teachers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in recent discussions she has held with the National Union of Teachers on lessons being taken by non-qualified teachers.

Stephen Twigg: I have had no recent discussions with the NUT on this issue.

Non-qualified Teachers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills under what circumstances non-qualified teachers are permitted to take lessons.

Stephen Twigg: The circumstances under which non-qualified teachers, and support staff, can undertake "specified work"—including delivering lessons to pupils—are set out in the 'Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2003'. The Regulations came into force on 1 August 2003. Guidance has been published to accompany the regulations and a copy is in the House of Commons Library.

School Building

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations she has received from local education authorities not in the initial waves of Building Schools for the Future about funding required for replacement or new secondary schools.

Stephen Twigg: We have received 10 representations from local education authorities not in the initial waves of Building Schools for the Future since we announced waves two and three of that programme on 30 November 2004.

School Closures

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what safeguards are in place to ensure that advice and information given by Directors of Education to local education authorities on the closure of schools is accurate, objective and balanced.

Stephen Twigg: Directors of Education are employed by local education authorities and are accountable to them. It is therefore for local authorities to satisfy themselves that their Directors of Education provide a satisfactory level and quality of advice.
	Policy and procedures for the closure of schools in Wales are devolved matters and therefore for the National Assembly for Wales.

School Closures

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria she applies when determining whether to approve a statutory notice of closure on a primary school.

Stephen Twigg: The Secretary of State has no role in the approval of proposals to close schools in England. For proposals published by the local education authority, where there are no objections, the LEA may decide to implement the proposals. In all other cases the proposals are passed to the local School Organisation Committee (SOC) for consideration. If the SOC cannot reach a unanimous decision, the proposals are passed to the Schools Adjudicator for the final decision.
	In making their decision the SOC and schools adjudicator must have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. This sets out a range of factors that must be considered. These include the views of interested parties, the impact of what is proposed on local standards, whether there is sufficient capacity to accommodate displaced pupils, length and nature of journey to alternative provision and the overall cost effectiveness of the proposals.
	Policy and procedures for the closure of schools in Wales are devolved matters and therefore for the National Assembly for Wales.

Special Needs Education

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special needs children there are in each local education authority area; and how much special needs funding (a) in total and (b) per child with special needs was provided in each of those local education authorities in the last year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: A table showing the number of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in each local education authority has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Funding for education is distributed to local authorities based on their education formula funding share. Local authorities then decide how best to allocate and distribute funding to schools and services, including funding for pupils with special educational needs (SEN). Some funding for SEN is delegated to schools to enable them to make additional arrangements and some is managed by the local authority. Local authorities report planned expenditure in their section 52 statements. Total planned expenditure for SEN reported for 2004–05 is £3,774,756,700 as at 13 December 2004.

Special Needs Education

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions she has held with Gloucestershire Local Education Authority on its proposals for the reorganisation of special needs education.

Margaret Hodge: Under arrangements introduced in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, the consideration of proposals for establishing, altering, or discontinuing maintained special schools are a matter for local decision making.
	No recent discussions have taken place between Ministers and Gloucestershire Local Education Authority concerning proposals for the re-organisation of special needs education.